Pallikkutam: July by james paul

FROM EDITORâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S DESK

Sporting life MAGAZINE ON EDUCATION

Sport is probably as old as the humanity itself. It has been developing with the development and growth of mankind.

VOLUME 2 ISSUE 2 JULY 2014

Managing Editor Dr. Varghese Panthalookaran CMI Editor James Paul Associate Editor Dr. Prasanth Palackappilly CMI

Columns K L Mohanavarma Dr. K.N. Raghavan Sajit Malliyoor Dr. Jos Cletus Plackal Dr. Augustine Thottakara Marketing Manager Varghese Kachappilly CMI Art Sajo Joseph

Sports and games have become a welcome trend even among the ordinary people in civilized societies. Playing sports can not only improve our health and keep us in good shape but also teach us important lessons in our daily life. When you engage in sports, the result may not be as important as the work. Winning in a sporting event can give some euphoric moments in oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s life. But whether you win or lose, sports teach you certain basic principles applicable in your daily life which can help you take good decisions in respect of your job, family and friends. Passing a ball to your team mate ensures good team work in your job, shooting a basket is akin to realization of your responsibility and holding a ball is similar to keeping good relationship with members of the family. Sports can positively impact both children and adults, providing opportunities to get exercise and spend time with peers in a healthy environment. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, playing sports can make people stronger and healthier, contributing to lower obesity rates. Athletes tend to have lower body mass indexes, but non-athlete participants will still benefit from developing muscles and burning calories. Learning to play sports as a child will help him to be a more active adult. It is also reported that children who engage in outdoor sports are less likely to use drugs and smoke. For children, playing sports can help develop friendships centered on healthy, safe and enjoyable activities. Team practice and competitions provide socializing options that are healthier and more active compared with regular sessions of other more sedentary activities. Sports also play the important role of imparting character values. Playing sports can help teach honesty, teamwork and fair play. Learning to follow rules and respecting teammates and opponents can also be useful in later life. Experiencing the role of a graceful winner and loser teaches people about being humble, and competition in general can teach individuals about self-respect, confidence and managing stress. Good sportsmanship provides guidelines that can be generalised to classroom and lifelong achievement. Participation in challenging sports contests teaches children to love classroom challenge. It also teaches children to function in a competitive society.

Contact: Rajagiri Media, Rajagiri Valley P.O, Kakkanad, Kochi-39. Phone : 0484 2973979 Mob: +91 9497711010 Mail : editor@rajagirimedia.com www.pallikkutam.com

The world of sports mirrors how one can play the game of school and life. Good athletes stay in the game and play their best even when they are losing. They know they will win some and lose some. They discipline themselves. They practice with grueling regularity the necessary skills for their sport. Education, life accomplishments, creative contributions in the arts, sciences, business, and government involve similar perseverance and self-discipline. Sport is one of most interesting ways of learning to live life.

C ONTENTS CO VER ST OR Y COVER STOR ORY

What is the importance of sports in life? Sports foster friendship and amity. Participation in games and sports invariably ensures good health and fitness. Physical fitness is essential for proficiency in studies also. Ailing bodies do not make for sharp brains.

Importance of sports and games in education... 30 P. Ranganathan

Sportsmanship: the golden rule of sports......... 32 Shibu P. P

Benefits of sports.................................................. 34 Thomas Chacko

Soccer: the game for life....................................

Rejeesh T. Chacko

Kpcp-Z£nW 09

EXPERT COUNSEL 18

GUEST COLUMN 61

Hm¿Ω-∏p-g-bpsS Xoc-ß-fn¬

Tribute to my teachers

Hcp t_mfpw Iq´mbvabpw

{]^. Fw. IrjvW≥\m-b¿ F\n-°v- {]nb-¶-c-\mb A[ym-]-I\mbn. At±-l-Øn\pw Aßs\-X-s∂-bm-bn-cp-∂p.

My mind froze for a moment and automatically went into flash back mode as memories came flooding in.

s]sebpw adtUmWbpw sa nbpw s\bvadpw AhcpsS Ifnbnse ]pXphgnIfneqsS \ΩpsS Kpcp°fmWv. ^pSvt_mƒ \ΩpsS ]T\{KŸhpw.

tUm. sNdn-bm≥ Ip\n-b-t¥m-SØv

Dr. K.N. Raghavan

sI F¬ taml\h¿Ω

Pallikkutam | July 2014

JULY 2014 STORIES OF LIFE 21

A ‘loving’ signal to parents NEWS..................................................................... 06 VOICES................................................................. 08 INSIGHTS.............................................................. 26 ......................................................... 46 INNO VATION INNOV TION......................................................... INFO TECH............................................................ 56 HEAL TH WATCH................................................... 58 HEALTH

Dr. Jos Cletus Plackal PERSONAL 23

Confusing changes in personality

CONFESSIONS ..................................................... 66

Sajit Malliyoor YOURS TEA CHERL Y 15 TEACHERL CHERLY

Why I chose to become a teacher… R.Geethakrishna Pai POLICY WATCH 43

Indian higher education system-1

ASPECTS 48

Microcosm and Macrocosm

SUBSCRIBE NOW TURN TO P AGE 17 PA

Dr. Augustine Thottakara CAREER 51

Career in Architecture

Dr D.Dhanuraj Rahul V Kumar Pallikkutam | July 2014

NEWS

IIMA partners Exhibition on health Corporate, education and family farming with Govt bodies T A

hrikkakara Muncipal Co-operative hospital plans to conduct four day exhibition on health education and family farming for safe food at Kakkandu, Kochi from 31.7.2014 to 3.8.2014. The program is organised as the part of 15 th Anniversary celebrations of the hospital.

Health sector experts and other distinguished guests will participate the programe. There will be a medical exhibition also, fousing school students and public to create basic awareness about medical science. Thrikkakara Muncipal Co-operative Hospital Society was set up

as a project of Thrikkakara Grama s its fundraising and development Panchayat as part of People’s plan efforts gain traction, Indian Institute campaign. The basic objective of the of Management Ahmadabad (IIMA) made hospital is to provide modern health care its first tranche of announcements relating services to the poor and back ward classes to support that has been committed by of the soceity at an affordable cost. Besides medical care, the hospital is engaged in activites like generation of pure drinking water,scientific waste management, ecofriendly energy utilisation techniques, educating healthy life style etc. The hospital provides treatments in Allopathy, Homeopathy, Ayurveda and Dentistry.

UGC roots for special attention to teachers’ education

hairman of University Grants Commission (UGC) Ved Prakash has appealed to the vice-chancellors of all universities to extend their personal attention to matters related to strengthening and improvement of teachers’ education in the university campuses. Aligning teachers’ education courses with the regulatory provisions of the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE), promoting and running integrated teacher education programmes (TEPs), creating revised modules for refresher as well as orientation training for teacher educators and encouraging and supporting specialization within the domain of teacher education are some of the steps Prakash has listed in his letter sent on June 30. The move assumes significance in the wake of a growing concern about the

quality of teaching at higher education institutions. The UGC chief’s letter has been posted on the commission’s website. The UGC chief has also called for special efforts to strengthen postgraduate programmes in the education department besides ensuring that teacher education curriculum is aligned with the National Curriculum Framework for Teacher Education (NCFTE), 2009 of the NCTE. In a separate letter to the directors of the academic staff colleges (ASCs), who are responsible for teacher education in the university system, Prakash has sought steps to include teacher education related activities in the ASC calendar and significant slots for refresher and orientation programmes for teacher education. This also includes modules for training teacher educators with the involvement of senior teacher educators.

and agreed to with leaders in corporate and Government institutions. As per the institute, put together, these collaborations, where the agreements have already been signed and the contributions have started coming in, will pool in over 16 crores INR to fund cutting-edge research and award scholarships to meritorious students. “We have some of the brightest alumni in this country and abroad, who feel strongly a desire to contribute to their Alma Mater. For example, Raghuram Rajan, Governor, RBI; KV Kamath, Chairman, ICICI Bank; Dr. Harsh Kumar Bhanwala, Chairman, NABARD; and KV Srinivasan, CEO, Reliance Capital are all a part of the distinguished IIMA alumni group who came forward to contribute and maintainIIMA as the premier institution for management education and research,” said Prof. Ashish Nanda, Director, IIM Ahmedabad. IIMA, in the recent past, has been following a three-pronged approach – connect, nurture, and grow – which is reflected in this initiative. IIMA is increasing its connections with alumni, corporates, researchers, and the local community by reaching out pro-actively. It is endeavoring to nurture an environment of autonomy to its faculty and staff while encouraging them to achieve stretch goals.

Pallikkutam | July 2014

NEWS

India becomes first country to ratify Marrakesh Treaty

ndia has become the first country to ratify the Marrakesh Treaty to facilitate access to published works for persons who are blind, visually impaired, or otherwise print disabled.

visually impaired and otherwise print disabled (VIPs). It addresses the “book famine” by requiring its contracting parties to adopt national law provisions that

So far, 79 WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organisation) member states have signed this Treaty. The Marrakesh treaty will come into force once twenty countries ratify this treaty. Dilip Sinha, the Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations, handed over the Instrument of Ratification to Francis Gurry, Director General, WIPO at a ceremony organized held during the 28th Session of SCCR (Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights) in WIPO Headquarters. The main goal of Marrakesh Treaty is to create a set of mandatory limitations and exceptions for the benefit of the blind,

permit the reproduction, distribution and making available of published works in accessible formats - such as Braille - to VIPs and to permit exchange of these

works across borders by organizations that serve those beneficiaries. Once the Marrakesh Treaty comes into force, it will facilitate access to published works for the millions of blind, visually impaired and otherwise print disabled persons in India. It would go a long way in establishing equal rights and opportunities for education and employment for them. The Treaty will facilitate import of accessible format copies from the member states by the Indian authorized entities such as educational institutions, libraries and other such institutions working for the benefit of visually impaired persons. This will also facilitate translation of imported accessible format copies and export of accessible format copies in Indian languages. The Indian Copyright (Amendment) Act, 2012 is in harmony with the Marrakesh Treaty.

Suggest school syllabi to boost innovation: Irani to IITs

he government plans to formulate a national innovation policy that would stress on innovation at the school level, according to human resource development minister Smriti Irani. Apprising directors and chairmen of 16 Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) about the policy at a retreat in Goa, Irani asked them to suggest curriculum changes at the school level that would not only align with higher education institutions but also help set up innovation labs at the district level across India with a view to infusing a culture of research and innovation among students. Irani asked the institutes to set up cultures of excellence in central universities, said a ministry statement. The day-long retreat focused on issues related to deepening research and technological innovation for meeting the national development agenda, enhancing industry-academia collaboration and expanding the massive open online courses (MOOCs). It also stressed on

Pallikkutam | July 2014

framing a ranking system that would reflect national concerns and leveraging alumni networks, the statement added.

constituted to map various disciplines with respect to their requirement for meeting national manpower goals,” the statement said. Irani also asked the IITs to develop a “special programme” for students from the northeast and said they need to be “exposed to the best of the institutions like IITs in different parts of the country”. She asked the director of IIT Guwahati to coordinate efforts in this direction and submit a report by the middle of August. She also highlighted the need to develop “quality faculty” not only for the new IITs, Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) and Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research (IISERs) but also for other institutions in the country.

Urging the IITs to leverage their alumni network, Irani asked the chairmen and Irani said the IITs need to come up with at directors to suggest policy constraints and least 10 goals that India should reach, both strategies to involve the institutes’ alumni nationally and internationally, in a timefor contributing towards the institutes’ bound manner. “A committee consisting of development and also the nation. directors and chairmen of IITs has been

VOICES

Education system is run by people with little industry experience. Sports by those who have never played. And then we say we have problem.

Now inside me there’s no feelings of joy, revenge or anger against Suarez for an incident that happened on the and that’s done. My only thought is for Luis and his family, because they will face a very difficult period.

I attribute my success to this: I never gave or took any excuse. –Florence Nightingale

The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity. –Amelia Earhart

Every strike brings me closer to the next home run. –Babe Ruth

Definiteness of purpose is the starting point of all achievement. –W. Clement Stone

We must balance conspicuous consumption with conscious capitalism. –Kevin Kruse

Pallikkutam | July 2014

Kpcp-Z£nW

Hm¿Ω-∏p-g-bpsS Xoc-ß-fn¬ tUm. sNdn-bm≥ Ip\n-b-t¥m-SØv

{]^. Fw. IrjvW≥\m-b¿ F\n-°v- {]nb-¶-c-\mb A[ym-]-I-\mbn. At±-l-Øn\pw Aßs\-X-s∂-bm-bn-cp-∂p. Rm\mWv G‰hpw {]nbinjy-s\∂v ae-bm-f-\mSv hmcn-I-bn¬ At±lw Fgp-Xn! Bbn-c-I-W-°n\v injykº-Øp≈ At±lw Aßs\-sb-gp-Xn-b-Xv, henb Hcp Ahm¿Uv In´p-∂Xns\-°mƒ t{ijvT-ambn A\p-`-h-s∏-´p. AXn¬\n∂v At±lw ]n∂oSv ]n≥am-dn-bn-ń-√. IemIu-ap-Zn-bn¬ kmln-Xy-hm-c-êw Fgp-Xn-bn-cp-∂-t∏mgpw Fs∂-Øs∂ G‰hpw {]nb-s∏´ injy-\mbn At±lw ]e-{]m-hiyw FSpØp Imń. Kpcpinjy _‘-Øn\v hen-sbmcp DZm-l-c-W-ambn AXv amdn.

Pallikkutam | July 2014

Kpcp-Z£nW

alm-cm-Pm-kn¬ G‰hpw anI® A[ym-]-Isc e`n-®p-sh-∂Xv kt¥m-j-I-c-am-bn. {]^. Fw. IrjvW≥ \mb¿, {]^. Fw.sI km\p, tUm. Fw. eoem-h-Xn,{]-^. Fw. tXmakv amXyp, {]^. Fw. ANyp-X≥, {]^. Sn.-B¿ Hma-\-°p-´≥ XpSßn F{X-sb{X A[ym-]I{]Xn-`-Iƒ! m¿Ω-Ifn-eqsS IS-∂p-t]mIp∂XmWv a\p-jy-Po-hn-Xw. hnZym¿∞nPohn-X-sØ-∏‰n HØn-cntbsd Hm¿Ω-Iƒ a\- n¬ ]®-sISmsX \n¬°p-∂p. `mhn-bn¬ Bsc¶n-ep-amIpw Fs∂mcp Nn¥ A°me-ß-fn¬ F∂n¬ A¶p-cn-®n-cp-∂n-√. ¢m p-I-fn¬ \n∂v e`n-°p∂ Adnhp-I-fmWv BZy-Im-e-ß-fn¬ apt∂m´v \bn-®-Xv. ]t£, A£-cßƒ Iq´n hmbn-°m≥ km[n°pw F∂ \ne-h∂t∏mƒ ]pkvX-I-ßƒ Fs‚ Iq´n-s\-Øn. sse{_dn ]pkvX-I-ßƒ IuXp-I-tØmsS hmbn-®p. Ip‰m-t\z-jWIY-Ifpw t\mh-ep-Ifpw BZy-amZyw Fs∂ ]nSn-®n-cp-Øn.

in-°m-\p≈ k¿ń-^n-°-‰mbn AXv amdn. skan-\m-cn-bn¬ h®v Ihn-Xsb-gpØv XpS-ßn. Ihn-X-Iƒ \∂mbn ]mSp-Ibpw sNbvXn-cp-∂p. hgn-am-dmØ ]T-\-ßƒ _mw•q¿ [¿Ωmcmw tImsf-Pn¬ XØz-imkv{X]T\w ]q¿Øn-bm-°nb-Xn\v tijamWv tXhc tImsfPn¬ {]oUn{Kn ]T-\-Øn\v tN¿∂Xv. At∏m-tg°pw sslkv°qƒ ]T\-Øn\v tijw Ggv h¿j-ßƒ Ign-™n-cp-∂p. AXp-sIm-s≠mcp KpW-ap-≠mbn: IqsS ]Tn-®n-cp∂ sI.F apl-ΩZv Ipń ]n∂oSv {]ikvX-\mb aΩqń F∂ \S-\m-bn. Iem-ime _m_phpw kl-]m-Tn-bmbn-cp-∂p.

IØ-\m-Sv, {]^. AK-Ãn≥ sImΩ‰w XpS-ßn-bh¿ ae-bm-fm-[y]-I-cm-bn-cp-∂p. sshZnI ]T\w ]q¿Øn-bm-b-Xn\p tij-amWv FdWm-Ipfw alm-cm-Pmkv tImtf-Pn¬ ae-bmfw Fw. F°v tN¿∂-Xv. G‰hpw IqSp-X¬ am¿°p-≠m-bn-cp∂-Xn-\m¬ ¢m n¬ H∂mw ÿm\w e`n-®p. Un{Kn ]T-\-Øn\pw ]n.Pn. ]T-\-Øn\pw kvt°mf¿jn∏v e`n°pI-bp-≠m-bn. anI® A[ym-]-I¿

alm-cm-Pm-kn¬ G‰hpw anI® A[ym-]-Isc e`n-®p-sh-∂Xv kt¥m-j-I-c-am-bn. {]^. Fw. IrjvW≥ \mb¿, {]^. Fw.sI km\p, tUm. Fw. eoem-h-Xn,H∂mw ÿm\-sØm-∂p-a-√m-bn-cp-s∂{]^. Fw. tXma v amXyp, ¶nepw ]T-\-Øn¬ Rm≥ ]n∂m-°- Un{Kn ]T-\-Im-eØv kwKo-X-cw-KØpw cmjv{Sob cwKØpw {]i-kvX- {]^. Fw. ANyp-X≥, {]^.Sn.-B¿ am-bn-cp-∂n-√. CXp-h-scbpw Hcp Hma-\-°p-´≥ XpSßn F{X-sb{X ¢m nepw tXm¬°msX ]Tn-°m≥ cmbn Xo¿∂ ]ecpw A∂v tXhc A[ym-]I{]Xn-`-Iƒ! tImsf-Pn¬ ]Tn-®n-cp-∂p. Ht´sd Ign-™p. A[ym-]-I¿ Fs∂ {]ikvX kmln-Xy-Im-c-∑m¿ DZvLm- A∂v {]i-kvX-am-bn-cp∂ ae-bm-fkvt\ln-°p-Ibpw Ahsc Rm≥ _lpam\]pc- cw KWn-°p-Ibpw S-I-cm-bpw,A≤y-£-cm-bpw,{]`m-j-I- \mSv hmcn-I-bn¬ {]^. Fw. cmbpw ktΩ-f-\-ß-fn¬ FØn-bsNbvXph∂p. IrjvW≥ \mb¿ kmlnXy hmctXm¿°p-∂p. Aßs\-bmWv XI-gn,- ^ew Fgp-Xn-bn-cp-∂p. {]^.Fw.sI sslkv°q-fn¬ ]Tn-°p-tºmƒ h-b-em¿ cma-h¿Ω,-Z-£n-Wm-aq¿Øn, km\phmIs´ Fs‚ BZy-Ir-XnF\n°v e`n® kz`mh k¿´n-^n-°‰v sI.-]n. A∏≥ XpS-ßn-b-hsc BZy- bmb ""Bim-\nse Zm¿i-\n-I≥'' Cu Pohn-X-Øn-semcp hgn-Øn-cn-hmambn ImWm\n-S-bm-b-Xv. s{]^. F∂ ]pkvX-I-Øn\v, Rm≥ bn. sshZnI skan\mcnbn¬ {]thamXyp DeIwXd, {]^. t]mƒ Fw. {]oUn{Kn ]T\w XpS-ßpw aptº,

Pallikkutam | July 2014

Kpcp-Z£nW

Kpcp-injy _‘-Øns‚ hm’-ey-Øn¬ a\- p-d-∏n®v Rm≥ At±-l-Øn-s\mcp IsØ-gp-Xn. adp-]Sn s]s´∂v e`n-®p.˛k-am-lmcw DS≥ Ab-®p-sIm-Sp-°m≥ Bh-iy-s∏-´p-sIm≠v. F\n°v AZv`pXw tXm∂n. F√m-hscbpw ITn-\-ambn hna¿in-°p∂ Fw. IrjvW≥ \mb¿ km¿ F\n°v FgpXn-Ø∂ Ah-Xm-cnI hmbn®v Rm≥ tImcn-Ø-cn®p t]mbn. Ah-Xm-cnI FgpXn X∂v t{]m’mln-∏n-®n-cp-∂p.

hmcn-I-bn¬ At±lw Fgp-Xn! Bbn-c-I-W-°n\v injykº-Øp≈ At±lw Aßs\-sb-gp-Xn-b-Xv, Kpcp-am-\kw henb Hcp Ahm¿Uv In´p-∂Xns\{]^. Fw. IrjvW≥\m-b¿ °mƒ t{ijvT-ambn A\p-`-h-s∏-´p. kmdns\ Ãm^v dqan¬ t]mbn AXn¬ \n∂v At±lw ]n∂oSpw t\cn´v I≠v ]cn-N-b-s∏-´p. Rms\]n≥am-dn-bn-ń-√. Iem-Iu-ap-Zn-bn¬ gp-Xnb GXm\pw D]-\ym-k-ßƒ kmln-Xy-hm-c-êw Fgp-Xn-bn-cp-∂At±lw hmbn®p t\m°n, XncpØn t∏mgpw Fs∂-Øs∂ G‰hpw X∂p. kmdns‚ ¢m p-Iƒ F√m{]nb-s∏´ injy-\mbn At±lw ]eh¿°pw CjvS-am-bn-cp-∂p. a‰p {]m-hiyw FSpØp Imń. ¢m p-I-fn¬ \n∂v hnZym¿∞n-Iƒ Kpcpinjy_‘-Øn\v hen-sbmcp At±-l-Øns‚ ¢m pI-fn¬ Ibdn DZm-l-c-W-ambn AXv amdn. Ccn-°p-am-bn-cp-∂p. hniz-km-ln-XyIhnXmkam-lm-c-ßƒ Ønse DØa IrXn-Iƒ At±lw Rßƒ°v ]cn-N-b-s∏-SpØn Xcp-am- tImgn-t°mSv tZh-Kncn tImsf-Pn¬ bn-cp-∂p. JWvV\ hna¿i-\Rm≥ ae-bm-fm-[ym-]-I-\mbn Øn\mWv aWvV-\-hn-a¿itN¿∂-Xn\p tijw Fs‚ \nc-h-[n\sØ°mƒ At±lw {][m\yw IhnXmkam-lm-c-ßƒ ]pdØp \¬In-bn-cp-∂-Xv. F\n-°-t±lw h∂p. "apf-¥≠v' F∂ kam-lmcw {]nb-¶-c-\mb A[ym-]-I-\mbn amdn. Xøm-dm-b-t∏mƒ AXn\v Kpcp-\mAt±-l-Øn\pw Aßs\-X-s∂-bmYs‚ Ah-Xm-cnI e`n-®m¬ \∂m-bnbn-cp-∂p. Rm\mWv G‰hpw cn-°p-sa∂v tXm∂n. At±lw CXp{]nbs∏´ injy-s\∂v ae-bm-f-\mSv hsc B¿°pw Ah-Xm-cnI Fgp-Xn-

Pallikkutam | July 2014

bn´n-s√-∂mWv Adn-bm≥ Ign-™-Xv. Kpcp-injy _‘-Øns‚ hm’-eyØn¬ a\- p-d-∏n®v Rm≥ At±-lØn-s\mcp IsØ-gp-Xn. adp-]Sn s]s´∂v e`n-®p.˛k-am-lmcw DS≥ Ab-®p-sIm-Sp-°m≥ Bh-iy-s∏-´psIm≠v. F\n°v AZv`pXw tXm∂n. F√m-h-tcbpw ITn-\-ambn hna¿in°p∂ Fw. IrjvW≥ \mb¿km¿ F\n°v Fgp-Xn-Ø∂ Ah-Xm-cnI hmbn®v Rm≥ tImcn-Ø-cn®p t]mbn. "apf-¥-≠n\v' sI.-kn._n.kn kmln-Xy-A-hm¿Uv Dƒs∏sS GXm\pw Ahm¿Up-Iƒ e`n-°p-I-bp-≠m-bn. {]^. Fw.-IrjvW≥ \mb¿ AwKo-I-cn-®-Xp-sIm≠mWv Aßs\ Rm≥ _lpam\nX-\m-b-sX∂v Xo¿®. A\p-tam-Z-\-°Øv IpSpw-_-Zo]w amkn-I-bpsS No^v FUn-‰-dmbn 30 h¿jw Rm≥ {]h¿Øn-®p. 1979-˛¬ tPm¨ t]mƒ c≠m-a≥ am¿∏m∏sb Rm≥

Kpcp-Z£nW

tXm∏n¬ `mkn-bpsS "ssIbpw Xebpw ]pd-Øn-S-cpXv' F∂ \mSIw ]Tn-∏n-®psIm-≠n-cn-°p-tºmƒ ¢m n¬ ko‰p-Iƒ XnI-bmsX h∂p. Rm≥ ]d™p: BZyw hcp-∂-h¿°v ko‰v; a‰p≈h¿ \n¬tI≠n hcpw.-\m-SIw Xocp-∂-Xp-hsc F{Xtbm t]¿ \n∂p-sIm≠v ¢m v tI´p! tImgn-t°m-´p≈ Ip´n-Iƒ°v aebmfw ¢m p-Iƒ henb XmXv]-cy-am-bn-cp-∂p. kμ¿in-®-Xns‚ t^mt´m IpSpw-_Zo-]-Øn¬ {]kn-≤-s∏-Sp-Øn. H∏w Hcp teJ-\-hp-ap-≠m-bn-cp-∂p. F\n°v F‚ Kpcp-\m-Y-\n¬ \n∂v Hc-\p-tam-Z\°Øv e`n-®p. Ct∏mƒ hnip-≤-\mbn {]Jym-]n-°-s∏-´B am¿∏m-∏-tbm-sSm∏w t^mt´m-bn¬ Fs∂-I-≠-t∏mƒ At±-l-Øn-\p≠mb A`n-am-\-amWv IØmbn cq]s∏-´Xv!

]t£, Ct∏mgpw Fs‚ a\- n-ep≠v-˛-a-cn-°mØ Hm¿Ω-bm-bn. CubnsS Fs‚ Ihn-X-I-fpsS Hcp _rlXv kam-lmcw"Iam\w'{]kn-≤s∏-Sp-Øn. AXv Rm≥ ka¿∏n-®n-cn°p-∂Xv {]ob-s∏´ Kpcp-\m-Y≥ {]^.Fw. IrjvW≥ \mb¿ kmdn\m-Wv.

hn-izkmlnXy-Ønse anI-®-Ir-Xn-Isf√mw Xs∂ Rm≥ hmbn-®n-cp-∂p.

"AXym-[p-\nI kmln-Xy-Øns‚ apJ-`m-h-ßƒ' Fs∂mcp ]pkvXIw t\csØ {]kn-≤o-I-cn-®n-cp-∂-XpsIm≠v AXns\ Bkv]-Z-am°n ¢m p-Iƒ FSp-°phm≥ Ign™p. ka-Im-eo\ kmln-XysØ ]‰n A[ym-]-I\pw hnZym¿∞nbpw Ipń-I-fn¬ Hcp Ah-t_m[w hf¿Øm≥ AXv klm-b-I-am-bn. C{Xbpw hnZym¿∞n-bpw A[ym-]Cß-s\-sbm-s°-bm-sW-¶nepw almkmln-Xy-tØm-sSm∏w `mjm]TI\pw . C\n A[ym-]-I\pw cm-Pmkv tImsf-Pn¬ \n∂v ]ncn™ \hpw Rm≥ e£y-am-°n-bn-cp-∂p. hnZym¿∞n-bpw. 1980-˛-emWv Rm≥ tijw F\n°v At±-lsØ t\cn´v tImgn-t°mSv tZh-Kncn tImsf-Pnse \√ ae-bmfw Fgp-Xm≥ Rm≥ IpńImWm≥ km[n-®n-cp-∂n-√. Aßn-s\Isf t{]m’m-ln-∏n-®p. hm°p-Iae-bmf hn`m-K-Øn¬ tN¿∂-Xv. bn-cnt° F\n-s°mcp Ah-kcw fpsS DZv`hw, hyXn-bm-\-ßƒ, hnZym¿∞n-Isf kvt\ln-°p∂ ssIh-∂p. Xncn-h-\-¥-]pcw ZqcA[ym-]-I-\m-bn-cp∂p Rm≥. AXp- hymI-cW `mh-ßƒ F∂n-hsb Z¿i-\n¬ A`n-ap-J-Øn\v Fs∂ ASn-ÿm-\-am-°n-bmWv ¢m p-Iƒ sIm≠vXs∂ hnZym¿∞n-I-fp-ambn £Wn-®n-cn-°p-∂p. A`n-ap-J-Øn\v F\n°v {]iv\-ß-sfm-∂p-ap-≠m-bn-ń- FSp-Øn-cp-∂-Xv. tijw kmdns\ kμ¿in-°m≥ √. A\p-`-h-ß-fpsS ]pg Rm≥ hoń-se-Øn-sb-¶nepw kmln-Xy-Øn\v {]m[m\yw \¬Inb tXm∏n¬ `mkn-bpsS "ssIbpw At±lw Ahn-sS-bp-≠m-bn-cp-∂n-√. ¢m p-I-fm-bn-cp∂p Ft‚-Xv. \ncm-i-\mbn aS-ßn. A[nIw Xebpw ]pd-Øn-S-cpXv' F∂ AXn\v th≠n hniz-km-ln-Xyhpw sshImsX At±-l-Øn-s‚ ac-W\mSIw ]Tn-∏n-®p-sIm-≠n-cn-°phm¿Ø-bm-W-dn-™-Xv. Ft∂-∂-°p- ka-Im-eo-\-km-ln-Xyhpw Ft∏mgpw tºmƒ ¢m n¬ ko‰p-Iƒ XnIFs‚ IqsS-Ø-s∂-bp-≠m-bn-cp-∂p.- bmsX h∂p. Rm≥ ]d™p: ambn th¿]n-cn™ Kpcp-\m-Y≥ Pallikkutam | July 2014 12

Kpcp-Z£nW

Hm¿Ω-∏p-g-bpsS Hmf-ßƒ Hgp-In-sIm-t≠-bn-cn-°p-∂p. Ah \ne-bv°p∂n√. Xoc-ß-fn¬ \n∂v ]n≥Xncn™p t\m°p-tºmƒ, A`n-am-\-amWv hnS¿∂p hnS¿∂p hcp-∂-Xv. BZyw hcp-∂-h¿°v ko‰v; a‰p≈h¿ \n¬tI≠n hcpw.-\m-SIw Xocp-∂-Xp-hsc F{Xtbm t]¿ \n∂p-sIm≠v ¢m v tI´p! tImgnt°m-´p≈ Ip´n-Iƒ°v ae-bmfw ¢m p-Iƒ henb XmXv]-cy-am-bn-cp∂p.

Znh-k-ßƒ Rß-tfmSv IqsS-bp-≠mbn-cp-∂p. AXv henb kulr-Z-ambn amdn. At±-lsØ tZh-Kncn tImtfPn¬ sIm≠p-h-cp-hm\pw ae-bmf

Rm≥ ]Tn-∏n-®n-´p≈ Ip´n-Iƒ FhnsS h®p-I-≠mepw HmSn hcpw. Hcn-°¬ tImgn-t°mSv \K-c-Øn¬ h®v Fs‚ i_vZw Xncn-®-dn™ A≤ hnZym¿∞n Dds° hnfn®p: "sNdn-bm≥ ^mZ¿' Rm≥ ASp-ØpsN∂p kwkm-cn-®p. henb kt¥mj-am-bn. kt¥m-j-I-c-amb Imcyw A[ym-]-I-\m-IpI kt¥m-j-I-camb Imcy-am-Wv. hf-sc-Im-e-Øn\v tijw Ahsc t\Xn-´p-Im-Wp-∂Xv F{X-ta¬ BÀm-Z-I-camWv! {]ikvX-cmbn Xo¿∂ hnZym¿∞n-Isf Rm≥ ]Tn-∏n-®n-´p-≠v. kp[ojv F∂ \Ss\ {]oUn{Kn apX¬ Un{Knhsc ]Tn-∏n-®p. \S≥ hn\o-Xns\ ]Tn-∏n°m≥ Ign-™n-´n-s√-¶nepw (ln-μnbm-bn-cp∂p sk°≥Uv emwtKzPv) Rßƒ Hcp-an-®mWv temI-aebmf ktΩ-f-\-Øn\v P¿Ω-\n-bn¬ t]mbXv. t{]w\ko¿ AhnsS GXm\pw

Pallikkutam | July 2014

ktΩ-f\w DXvLm-S\w sNøn-°phm\pw Ign-™p. ssh°w apl-ΩZv _jo-dns‚ aI≥ A\ojv _jodns\ ]Tn-∏n-s®∂Xpw Hm¿°p∂p.

hmkp-tZ-h≥ \mb¿, ssh°w aplΩZv _jo¿,- kpIp-am¿ Ago-t°mSv, F≥. F≥ I°m-Sv,-sI. F sImSp-ß-√q¿, Xot°m-Sn-b≥,-bp. F JmZ¿ XpSßn Ht´sd {]K-ev`-cpambn ASp-Øn-S-]-g-Im≥ Ign-™p. tZhKncn tImsfPpXs∂ Ht´sd {]Xn-`m-im-en-I-fpsS hnlm-c-cw-K-ambn-cp-∂p. AhnsS \S-Øn-bn-cp∂ kmln-Xy-k-tΩ-f-\-ßfpw Ihn ktΩ-f-\-ßfpw Hcn-°epw ad-°m≥ km[n-°n-√. {]n≥kn-∏-em-bn-cp∂ tUm. ^m. sXtbm-tUm-jy-kv, Cw•ojv {]^-k¿ kn.F. sjt∏¿Uv XpS-ßn-b-h¿ tZh-Kn-cnbpsS {]ikvXn Db¿Øn. {]^.hnjvWp-\m-cm-b-W≥ \ºq-Xncnsb t]mse F{Xtbm Ihn-Iƒ AhnsS hnZym¿∞n-I-fm-bn-cp-∂p.

Hm¿Ω-∏p-g-bpsS Hmf-ßƒ Hgp-InsIm-t≠-bn-cn-°p-∂p. Ah \netZh-Kn-cn-bn¬ A[ym-]-I-\m-bn-cp∂ bv°p∂n√. Xoc-ß-fn¬ \n∂v ImeØv Ht´sd kmln-Xy-Im-c-∑msc ]n≥Xncn™p t\m°p-tºmƒ, A`nam-\-amWv hnS¿∂p hnS¿∂phcp-∂ASpØp ]cn-N-b-s∏-Sp-hm≥ IgnXp. ™p. XIgnbpsS Ah-km-\-ImeØv NnIn-’-°mbn tImgn-t°mSv {]ikvX Ihnbpw kmln-Xy-Im-c-\p-amWv h∂-t∏mƒ t]mbn I≠p ]cn-Nbw teJI≥. Fgp-]-Xn-e-[nIw {KŸ-ßfpw 3500]pXp-°n. Fkv. sI s]m‰-°m-´pe-[nIw Km\-ßfpw Fgp-Xn-bn-´p-≠v. 25-˛-eambn \√ _‘-am-bn-cp-∂p. Fw.Sn [nIw Ahm¿Up-Iƒ e`n-®n-´p-≠v.

YOURS TEA CHERL Y TEACHERL CHERLY

Why I chose to become a teacherâ&#x20AC;Ś

R.Geethakrishna Pai is the Principal of Sanatana Dharma College, Alappuzha. He wrote books on taxation, Cost Accounting and Banking. He is also an ardent lover of carnatic music.

Pallikkutam | July 2014

YOURS TEA CHERL Y TEACHERL CHERLY

Looking back on my teaching career I can honestly say that much of what I learned about teaching I learned from my elementary school teachers. Many of the great teachers that I have had throughout my education have become my heroes and role models. Why I chose to become a teacher… A question not so easy to answer! This decision was not taken lightly. When one makes a decision about the work he will do in life, it is important that the decision be based on criteria that reflect his personal values, temperaments, experiences, and skills. This decision was a culmination of a process of reflection about what I wanted to do with my life. I want to be a part of a noble profession with the hope of one day being counted among those in whom future teachers find inspiration. I really believe in the saying that teachers make the destinies of the children they teach and they do not know where, if at all, the influence of a teacher stops. In my college days I dreamt that if I was a teacher I would be a blend of strictness and love for all my children. The care I would take of their studies, their character and conduct would all together be a package of sorts. My love for them would be abounding yet, at the same time, I would not have any compromise with their work and or any other activity of theirs. To a great extent, I now believe that I had won in this. Of course, first inspiration is my father who was a Professor of Malayalam in St. Berchmans’ College , Changanacherry. The respect he got from his students as well as his dedication as a teacher was a great inspiration to me from my childhood. I looked from far distance, his preparation in advance for teaching ie, referring so many books the day before a class. His simplicity, punctuality, mode of dressing were all unique. Thus it can be said that teaching is in my blood. Looking back on my teaching career I can honestly say that much of what I learned about teaching I learned from my elementary school teachers. Many of the great teachers that I have had throughout my education have become my heroes and role models. I now remember Sri.T.T.Varghese, who taught me English and Chemistry subjects in my 10th standard, is one among this. He never took a stick in his hands but all

students had to obey him as his approach was such that he injected love into the minds of all students. The way he taught Chemistry is still remembered. He made learning fun and directed us to the laboratory for some practical which no other teachers did. His love to students, sincerity, pedagogy etc is noteworthy. But my inspiration to become a teacher came from one very special teacher that had inspired me and made learning fun by creating authentic experiences making connections in learning that reading of the text book alone could never do. It is none other than Sri. M.K.Sreedharan Pillai sir, the then Professor and Head of Department of Commerce ,who taught me the subject ‘Income Tax’ when I was doing my M.Com at N.S.S Hindu College, Changanacherry . It is he who actually turned my life to accept teaching..I remember that he was good at explaining content, was patient yet firm with students, always fair, set high expectations, knew how to motivate, and used humor appropriately. He had high command over the subject ‘Income Tax’ and that is why I took the same subject ‘Income Tax’ in my UG and P.G classes in my college and thanks to his blessings

got admiration from my students. Little did I know then that he would influence my career in the years to come. This is the type of teacher that I intended to become. As the saying goes, “A teacher effects eternity; he/she can never tell where his/her influence stops.” I really believe in the saying that teachers make the destinies of the children they teach and they do not know where, if at all, the influence of a teacher stops. This is why a teacher acquires the status akin to the parents as, these childhood and teenage contacts are the most far reaching and mostly even permanent.

Pallikkutam | July 2014

Pallikkutam | June 2014

EXPERT COUNSEL

Tribute to my teachers Dr. K.N. Raghavan

My mind froze for a moment and automatically went into flash back mode as memories came flooding in. It was his words about a teacher remembering everything about his students that set me thinking. “Hello, is it Dr Raghavan?” “Yes”, I answered, “who is speaking?” “Are you the same Raghavan who studied in Rajagiri in class six in 1974?” “Yes, may I know who is speaking?, I was curious now.

clearly in my mind the morning assembly in school one day in June 1974 where Fr. Aaron, who was the Asst Headmaster, introduced the new teacher Br. Jose Padayattil with pride, informing the audience that he was a former student of the school.

While we clapped our welcome he announced that our class (6B) would be having the good fortune to have him as our class teacher. Fr. Aaron also accompanied “Of course Father”, I stammered, “you him to our class when he came to take were our class teacher in class 6B” charge, may be to send out a message that My mind froze for a moment and we should take our still boyish looking automatically went into flash back mode as class teacher seriously. He need not have memories came flooding in. I could see “This is Fr. Jose Padayattil, do you remember me?”

worried as we liked him from the very first day and thoroughly enjoyed the year when he was in charge of our class. Fr. Padayattil asked me about my life after school while he kept me updated on his career which saw him become a doctor and serve the church and public in that capacity. He asked me about my class mates and I told him about the few with whom I was still in active contact. I was surprised when he seemed to remember each one of them clearly. I was even more amazed when he asked about another 8-10 classmates with whom I had lost contact. He seemed to remember all their details-

Pallikkutam | July 2014

EXPERT COUNSEL

The conversation made me think about the depth of teacher student relationship. We start going to school when very young and our parents leave us with the teachers who mould us into good students and responsible adults. their parents, where they came from etc. When I asked him how he remembered all that he told me, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Raghavan, when you become a class teacher at that age, you remember everything about your studentsâ&#x20AC;?. The phone call ended with him promising to look me up during his next visit to Kerala. It would be an understatement to say that I was thrilled to talk to my class teacher who had taught me nearly four decades ago. However, it was his words about a teacher remembering everything about his students that set me thinking. Can I say the same about myself? Could I remember

Pallikkutam | July 2014

at least the names of all my class teachers from class 1 to10? I was relieved that I could do so; I suddenly realized that it would have been quite shameful if I was not able to recall their details. This conversation made me think about the depth of teacher-student relationship. We start going to school when very young and our parents leave us with the teachers who mould us into good students and responsible adults. In a class of 45, there would not be two similar students- the skill sets, aptitudes, interests, social and economic backgrounds etc would vary from one student to another. A teacher is

expected to know all this; he is expected to analyze the strengths and weaknesses of all the students under his charge and to give care and attention to each one of them while taking them forward as a group. A student is likely to see the teacher only as a person who takes class, conducts exams, gives grades and occasionally punishes him for slackness or lack of attention, and is unaware of the multitude of tasks that a teacher performs and the enormity of the efforts that he puts in. It is in recognition of his role in moulding the society that a teacher (Guru) is placed above parents (Matah Pitah) and below only God, in the

EXPERT COUNSEL

When I look back I realize how fortunate students of my time were to have been taught by teachers who commanded respect for their knowledge and commitment towards students. order of reverence, by the ancient sages who wrote “Matah Pitah Guru Deivam”. A child, who is brought to the world by mother and father, can realize his self potential only through his teacher who clears the webs of ignorance in his mind and shows him the path to truth and God. When I look back I realize how fortunate students of my time were to have been taught by teachers who commanded respect for their knowledge and commitment towards students. I salute all my class teachers- the poetic Thomas sir in class v, the energetic Fr. Jose Padayattil in class vi, the handsome and dynamic Thomas Roy sir in class vii, the quietly assertive Baby sir in class viii, the strict and proper Sebastian sir in class ix and the scholarly Mathew sir in class x, who, along with the other teachers who taught us the various subjects, together guided and moulded me and my class mates into confident young men who could take on the challenges that the world outside the school had to offer. Fr. Padayattil’s phone call helped me to remember all my teachers and bow my head in respect and gratitude to each one of them. Thank you Fr. Padayattil, may your tribe increase!

The author is the Commissioner of Customs in Kochi.

Pallikkutam | July 2014

STORIES OF LIFE

A ‘loving’ signal to parents Dr. Jos Cletus Plackal

Daughter, “If I can’t love, I want to die”! Parents, “If our daughter doesn’t love us, why should we live?!

his dilemma of being caught between the devil and the deep sea is not so unusual in counseling situations. Many a time family feud is a manifestation of deeper psycho dynamics. Parents wonder as to why their son/daughter gets into a very destructive affair, and why makes threats about dying for the lover! Without fully realizing the deeper implications of such unhealthy relationships, the parents too, jump into hasty and drastic actions. Recently such a case of mass suicide was reported in the media. It is the duty of the psychologist to help the family to delve deep into the inner dynamics of the personal and relational undercurrents. Family feud is often symptomatic of deeper deprivations, consequent developmental deficit, resulting in emotional cutoffs. Sometimes ‘loving’ a person can be an attempt to send in a

Pallikkutam | July 2014

signal to the parents, even a vengeful signal against their lack of love, concern, care , etc., as perceived and kept suppressed deep down in mind, from the early and critical time of their formative age. Anna(not the real name), 23 years , employed, graduate, good looking, reserved, very loving and generous… Anna has fallen in love with a young man, who belongs to a different religion, unemployed, occasional drinking problems, and lately, Anna came to know that he is into ‘minor’ thefts too. Anna believes she can straighten him up with her love and good influence, she loves him madly! Anna has an older sister who is married and lives far away. The parents, in their mid-fifties, have started planning on their dear daughter’s marriage. They are very loving parents, both had to work

overtime to keep both ends meet. They lived for their daughters, and gave everything they needed,(at least that’s what they thought). Recently, the mother discovered that her daughter has an affair, and that she was planning on getting the marriage registered! To their dismay they discovered that the young man whom their daughter was dating was an antisocial. Needless to say that their life went topsyturvy, all their hopes and dreams of a peaceful retirement dashed off, and they suddenly turned violent with their daughter. Anna was forced to resign from her job, was confined to her room, deprived of all means of communication, etc. Literally Anna was in house arrest and her house turned out to be a jail (And her parents? Jail wardens!). No words can express the tremendous grief poor Anna went through. Her pleading and begging

STORIES OF LIFE

In this case the parents were sticking together and pitched against the daughter’s stubbornness. Initial therapeutic strategy was to disengage the warring duo – the parents vs. the daughter! didn’t soften the parents, instead they got hardened in their position of denial and rejection. The parents in their bitterest moments showered heaps and heaps of curses on the daughter and threatened with death. The daughter on the other hand equaled their threat with her own version. “If I am not allowed to love whom I please, then let me die”. To this the parents’ retort, “ If you don’t love us why should we live”. No doubt, “suicide” was a frequent word that came into the family’s parlance. The family’s script was rewritten as “death and dying” rather than, “love and living”! It was at this juncture that the enmeshed family, like a lightening cloud descended on the psychologist’s chamber, with a lot of thunder and rain! Such an emotionally charged situation is so unpredictable and can become so chaotic that the psychologist himself will be swept away. Fortunately, the psychologist is trained to predict and present creative intervention strategies. In this case the parents were sticking together and pitched against the daughter’s stubbornness. Initial therapeutic strategy was to disengage the warring duo – the parents vs. the daughter! In separate interviews the family dynamics was collected, bit by bit, the psycho dynamics of the family was put together, and Anna’s emotional world got more focus and attention with all its ramifications. In-depth analysis, using clinical tests, brought to light the deep emotional deprivation that Anna went through in her childhood. She complained of great loneliness that she experienced when she was a child, how her parents neglected her, times when parents won’t attend a function at school with her, etc. Anna also had a grudge that her parents loved the older sister since she was smarter and prettier. All along her childhood little Anna kept this loneliness, lack of self worth,

shyness and introversion to herself. Occasional temper tantrums unleashed by little Anna annoyed everyone at home but no one gave great significance to that. All along her childhood this loneliness and discontent had been simmering in the bottom of her heart. No wonder, Anna didn’t have many friends, and she was not particularly attached to anyone, including her parents. On the other hand, the parents had a completely different version. They both were working parents, low income group, both had to work overtime to keep the

family going. They admitted that due to their work load many a time they couldn’t spend time with their daughters. The parents admitted that they had to apply some extra pressure on the younger one due to her bad tempers. Gradually the parents came to realize that there was something amiss in their relationship with their younger daughter, that she really missed their quality time and affective moments… Anna also realized that her parents, after all, were not as bad as she had thought in her little mind. She also came to believe that her parents were working hard, day in and day out, just for the comfort of the two daughters. The therapeutic process was focused on rebuilding the damaged parent-child dyad. Without restructuring and repairing this biological relationship, there was no point in attempting to work

on Anna’s current love affair. Now both, the parents and their daughter, realized the depth of the emotional damage, unwittingly though, that had been inflicted in the tender heart of little Anna, and how she had to suffer the consequences silently and sadly. The time had arrived for the therapist to intervene in the healing process. Therapeutic tools were used in healing the intense childhood traumas and negative memories that had been eating on her inner emotional world. In this instance Brain Wave Modulation Therapy was administered. In the first session 25 intense and damaging memories were worked out with positive results. Once the parental bonding was reestablished, Anna was helped to revisit her affair objectively and impartially. By this time the therapeutic relationship was strong and deep enough to probe all the hidden and unconscious agenda that Anna kept on in this relationship. Anna gradually began to accept the negatives in her relationship. A realistic and factual reassessment brought her to the conclusion that this relationship was against her interest. Anna had to be assisted on separation issues such as grief, loss, anger from the lover, threats, blackmailing etc. In spite of all this turmoil Anna had the clarity that this friendship and relationship was not going to make her happy. Needless to say, the reunion made everyone in the family very happy. After a cool-off time set by the therapist, the parents found a young man for Anna whom she liked and married. The latest feedback tells that they are doing fine and lead a healthy life.

The author is licensed clinical psychologist (HRT), Jeevas Centre Aluva.

Pallikkutam | July 2014

PERSONAL

Confusing changes in personality Sajit Malliyoor

My worries started a year back, when one day he came home drunk. My father was not at home then and I never let him know about the incident. The next day I had a talk with my brother and he admitted to hanging out with friends and taking alcohol.

his letter is for my younger brother. I am twenty one year old college student, doing post graduate studies. My family consists of father and a younger brother. Our mother expired four years back and since then I am taking care of the running of the family. My father is employed and has little time to pay attention to the family matters. Lately, I am growing concerned about my younger brother. He is 18 years old and pursuing a degree course in a branch of science in a nearby college. My worries started a year back, when one day he came home drunk. My father was not at home then and I never let him know about the incident. The next day I had a talk with my brother and he admitted to hanging out

Pallikkutam | July 2014

with friends and taking alcohol. Since then, there were few more occasions when I suspected he has consumed alcohol, but he never admitted to it. Recently, one of my friends, who have a cousin in my brotherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s friends circle, told me that her cousin is abusing drugs and probably my brother is also involved in it. That sets me really worried. I am certain, my brother would not admit to it if I confront him and ask him directly. I am also scared to involve my father in it, since he is a very angry person and at times explosive. I am worried the incident would upset the whole family unit. Kindly advise me on how to handle the situation effectively.

Before we discuss what you need to look for if you are concerned about your brother, including the signs and symptoms of alcohol and drug use, we need to think about how you are affected by his alcohol and drug use. The disease of addiction is known as a family disease that affects everyone close to the person. Your ability to be helpful depends on how much you understand about alcohol and drugs as well as how you have been affected by his substance abuse. In fact, the most important thing you can do to help your brother is to commit to get help and support for yourself! Only the person using alcohol and drugs can make the decision to get help, but you can help

PERSONAL

In other words, you are ‘rescuing’ your brother from the full consequences of his behaviour. It is indeed an attempt to help him, but unfortunately, in a wrong way. create the conditions to make that decision more attractive. Seeking help and support on your own can encourage interest in treatment or self-help. I suggest you begin by learning about alcohol, drugs, alcoholism and addiction. This is the critical first step and you cannot rely on common sense or prevalent myths. The popular websites of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and Narcotics Anonymous (NA) are a useful first steps in this direction. There are also many online mutual aid/support groups for family members of substance abusers, which can help you realise that you are not alone, that you are not responsible for the problem and that you need to take care of yourself, regardless of whether your brother chooses to get help. It is evident

from the letter that you are trying to protect your brother from the possible adverse consequences when your father comes to know about his habits. In other words, you are ‘rescuing’ your brother from the full consequences of his behaviour. It is indeed an attempt to help him, but unfortunately, in a wrong way. Negative consequences related to drinking and drug abuse provides the necessary motivation and inspiration to initiate a recovery effort. It has been said that truth and consequences are the foundations for insight and this holds true for addiction. Rescuing addicted persons from consequences only ensure that more consequences must occur before the need for recovery is realised. Hence, I suggest you enlist the help of your father in the

recovery efforts. Even if it creates a temporary crisis in the family, let’s hope it will do well to your interests in the long run. Once you are mentally prepared to face the challenges, now let’s look for the tell-tale signs and symptoms for the regular and on-going substance abuse in the person. Although different drugs have different physical effects, the symptoms of addiction are similar. The warning signs can have behavioural, physical as well as psychological components. The physical warning signs include blood shot eyes or pupils that are smaller or larger than normal. Changes in appetite and sleep patterns may also be observed. The person may have sudden weight loss or weight gain. There may be deterioration in personal grooming or physical appearance

Pallikkutam | July 2014

PERSONAL

While you are at it, my word of caution is that to take care of yourself. You can only support and assist him but you canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t force an addict to change. and you may also observe impaired coordination while moving about. He may have bruises or injuries which he is unable to explain and occasionally you will notice unusual smells on breath, body or clothing. Many of the warning signs come from the academic front, like, skipping classes, declining attendance and performance grades, and loss of interests in extracurricular activities and hobbies. Remain vigilant about missing money, valuables, prescriptions or prescription drugs. Notice if the person is demanding more privacy, acting isolated, silent and withdrawn, locking doors and avoiding eye contact. There may be reports of frequent arguments, fights, conflicts and engaging in secretive and suspicious activities. Psychological warning signs are unexplained and confusing changes in

Pallikkutam | July 2014

personality and/or attitude. The person may have irritability, anger outbursts or sudden mood swings. There may be periods of unusual hyper activity, agitation or giddiness. At times he may appear lethargic, lacking in focus and motivation. There may also have spells of fearful, anxious and paranoid behaviours, occasionally. If you find some or many of these signs and symptoms, chances are that he may have a substance abuse problem. In that case, prepare yourself to speak up. Talk to him about your concerns and offer your help and support, without being judgemental. Be prepared for excuses and denial by listing specific examples of his behaviours. At the same time, try not to preach, threaten or punish

him for the problems. Avoid being emotional, which will only increase the feelings of guilt and the compulsions to use substances. Do not throw out or hide drugs or argue with him when he is under the influence of substances. Also try not to cover up or make excuses for him and protect him from the consequences of his acts, leaving him with no sense of importance or dignity. While you are at it, my word of caution is that to take care of yourself. You can only support and assist him but you canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t force an addict to change. Let him accept responsibility for his actions, which is an essential step along the way to his recovery.

Please send your queries to malliyoor@outlook.com

INSIGHTS

A quick and effective classroom feedback

he psychologists from the University of Rochester and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have developed an objective method to measure the vital signs of high-quality teaching. This quick assessment helps teachers and administrators to focus on the key indicators of teaching quality: engagement, alignment, and rigor. The 15-item tool, called the EAR Protocol—short for Engagement, Alignment, and Rigor—, focuses on three aspects of instruction: the engagement of students, how closely schoolwork aligns with state and local standards, and whether coursework is appropriately challenging. It takes only about 20 minutes to implement the assessment and it captures surprisingly complex and fundamental qualities of teaching. The protocol is based on one of the fundamental insights of educational research: when students’ basic psychological needs are met, learning outcomes improve. For example, when teachers are excited about their subjects and are supportive, students are more likely to be engaged. Further, when instructors present challenging schoolwork along with structured supports for mastering those assignments, students build a genuine

sense of competence and confidence. “It’s like learning how to play tennis. You improve when you play with someone who is just a bit better than you are,” suggest the researchers.

Life-long learning: key to adult well-being

ultiple benefits of life-long learning which draws on a person’s own motivation, was reported in a project Benefits of Lifelong Learning (BeLL) carried out in 10 European countries. The study focused on liberal adult education, non-vocational in character, which is characterized by voluntariness, selfmotivation, and goals related to hobbies. The study found that life-long learning boosts self-confidence and well-being, and expands social networks. Thanks to participation in adult education, tolerance towards and confidence in other people is found to grow. The adult learners also pay increasing attention to their health. Parents are better able to support the studying of their school-aged children.

Apart from the above-mentioned positive changes, some of the participants of the project also identified changes in work and career opportunities, as well as in factors supporting active citizenship, such as increased interest in doing voluntary work. Studying also creates an abundance of new areas of skill and expertise. Coordinated by DIE (Deutsches Institut für Erwachsenenbildung) in Germany, the project was part of Lifelong Learning program of the European Commission. It collected data from 10 European countries, Finland, Spain, England, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Romania, and Serbia. The University of Eastern Finland was responsible for the collection and analysis of the survey data.

Mechanism of rapid learning unraveled

IT neuroscientists have shown that the synchronization of brain waves across different brain regions leads to rapid learning. It facilitates human brains to absorb and analyze new information as it flits from thought to thought. The study appears in the June (2014) issue of Neuron. There are billions of neurons in the brain, each producing its own electrical signals. Brain waves are formed due to the combination of these electrical signals, which can be measured by electroencephalography (EEG). The research team examined the EEG patterns from the prefrontal cortex —the seat of the brain’s executive control system — and the striatum, which controls habit formation. It is found that the phenomenon of brainwave synchronization precedes the changes in synapses, or connections between neurons. The connection between neurons is believed to underlie learning and long-term memory formation. However, this process, known as synaptic plasticity, is too time-consuming to account for the

human mind’s flexibility, the study concludes. Changes of thoughts from moment to moment cannot be due to constant making new connections and breaking them apart in your brain, suggest the researchers of MIT’s Picower Institute for Learning and Memory. There should be some way of dynamically establishing circuits to correspond to the thoughts we’re having in this moment, and then if we change our minds a moment later, those circuits break apart somehow. The study concludes that the synchronized brain waves are the mechanism through which the brain does it. The research was done on monkeys. In quick learning process in monkeys, it was observed that the brain waves known as “beta bands,” produced independently by the prefrontal cortex and the striatum, synchronize with each other. This, according to the researchers, is the indication that a communication circuit is forming between the two regions, facilitating quick changes in mental states.

Pallikkutam | July 2014

INSIGHTS

Fear of the approaching

t is a commonplace experience that we experience an instinctual threat from the objects moving towards them, in comparison to the objects moving away from us. For example, a tiger approaching a person arouse more fear in a person than that is walking away! A study due to Professor Christopher K. Hsee of University of Chicago Booth School of Business, humans nourish negative feelings about things that approach them – even if they objectively are not threatening. These insights have great bearing on development of marketing strategies. For example, in the design of a television commercial care must be taken to gradually move a product closer to the viewers in order not to actually harm the image of the product. This applies to the speakers on a stage, who tend to move closer and closer toward their audiences during their speeches. They should think

Physical exercise improves learning of low-income adolescents

ccording to a new study from Poverty and Learning Lab at Dartmouth University, 12 minutes of exercise improves attention and reading comprehension in low-income adolescents. The results suggest that schools serving lowincome populations should incorporate brief bouts of exercise into their daily schedules. The study in published in the June (2014) volume of Frontiers in Psychology. The study compared responses of low-income adolescents with their high-income peers towards short physical exercises. While both groups saw improvement in selective visual attention up to 45 minutes after exercising, the low-income group experienced a bigger jump. Selective visual attention is the ability to remain visually

focused on something despite distractions. The low-income students also improved on tests of reading comprehension following the physical activity, but the high-income students did not. The study also points at the probable reason for different responses of the adolescent groups. The two groups respond to exercise differently because they experience different levels of stress in life. The low-income individuals often experience more stress than high-income individuals. The stress impacts the same physiological systems that acute aerobic exercise activates. This could be a reason for quick effects of short physical exercise on learning of low-income adolescents, concludes the study.

Hot stuff awaits ‘cool’ kids

twice, as doing so may cast an unfavorable impression on listeners. The results are published under the title: “Approach Aversion: Negative Hedonic Reactions toward Approaching Stimuli” in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. “Approach avoidance is a general tendency, humans don’t seem to adequately distinguish between times they should use it and when they should not; they tend to fear approaching things and looming events even if objectively they need not fear”, concludes Prof. Hsee.

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new decade-long study by researchers at the University of Virginia suggests that teens that play cool in early adolescence are more likely to experience a range of problems in early adulthood than their peers who didn’t act cool. The study appears in the journal Child Development. Being ‘cool teens’ are often idolized in popular media—in depictions ranging from James Dean’s Rebel Without a Cause to Tina Fey’s Mean Girls. Cool teens seek popularity and attention by trying to act older than one’s age. This includes getting romantically involved at an early

age, engaged in delinquent activity, and placed a premium on hanging out with physically attractive peers were thought to be popular by their peers at age 13. But over time, this sentiment faded: By 22, those once-cool teens were rated by their peers as being less competent in managing social relationships. They were also more likely to have had significant problems with alcohol and drugs, and to have engaged in criminal activities, according to the study. Those previously cool teens appeared less competent—socially and otherwise—than their less cool peers by the time they reached young adulthood.

Sports can teach us the important lesson on life.....

Sports have become an essential part of our curricula. Sports foster friendship and ar ticipation in games and spor ts inv ariably ensur es good health and fitness. amity.. P Par articipation sports invariably ensures amity Ailing bodies do not make for sharp brains. The spirit of sportsmanship help to inculcate lasting values, which make for good soldiers, good fighters and good discipline, apart from promoting physical fitness. The result has been the creation of a healthy, well-developed, disciplined and er ything in efficient society in which people kno w the right pr opor tions in life, put ev propor oportions ever erything know the right perspective. Playing the game on the playground naturally instructs people to play the game of life in the right spirit. Sports can teach us the important lesson on life.

COVER STORY

Importance of sports and games in education P. Ranganathan

Children are naturally active. Sports and games are an enjoyable way for them to enhance their own development. One of the major benefits of sports and games is that it helps to perform daily activities with vigor and reduce the risks to health.

oday games and sports play a tremendous role in the development of our youth. It enables them to lead a healthy life in an ever changing world. Sports and games makes the children psychologically, physically, physiologically, very active. It also helps in the development of character building. It helps to develop a team work, self discipline, sportsmanship, leadership and also socialisation among children. Regular physical activity provides numerous health benefits. Physical activity helps the people to improve their physical fitness,

to decrease obesity, hypertension, etc. It is clear that the physical fitness helps human beings to attain a healthy personality. We want our young boys and girls to be academically brilliant, emotionally stable, physically strong and spiritually sound. We can achieve all these qualities through the Physical Education. Children are naturally active. Sports and games are an enjoyable way for them to their own development. One of the major benefits of sports and games is that it helps to perform daily activities with vigour and reduce the risks to health. Academic

learning and sports education are actually complementary to each other. While formal education helps the development of the overall personality of a child, it is from sports that he or she gets the qualities of leadership, tolerance, sharing and team spirit. There is no doubt that education should result in the mental, physical and moral development of a student. Unfortunately, the present system of education lays too much stress on mental development and neglects the physical well being of a student. In the result, hordes of graduates,

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COVER STORY

Life is a struggle and a person with a healthy and strong body alone can face it successfully. Sports develop many good qualities of the head and the heart. Young children are trained to face defeat with a smile and maintain humility even in victory. post graduates and professionals of various hues pass out of universities with frail body and poor physique. For an all round development of a child the curriculum should include sports and games. Adequate time should be devoted to sports and games in schools. It should be made mandatory for all students to participate in any one of the games or physical activity for which marks should be awarded. A healthy and strong body is not possible without sports. The development of body is very essential in

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life. A person with a healthy and strong body alone can face life successfully. Sports develop many good qualities of the head and the heart. Young children will become trained to face defeat with a smile and maintain humility even in victory. Games are the greatest and healthiest means of refreshment and recreation which helps a lot in facing the actual odds of life without yielding to gloom or pessimism. So sports and games are not only essential but also an indispensable part of an all round development of the personality.

In modern lifestyle games and sports have become a profession as well. They can earn huge amounts of money by performing their skills in various competitions. Thus games and sports are very important in education.

The author is a well known cricket coach, right handed opening batsman and right arm medium pace bowler . Represented Kerala state in RANJI TROPHY from 1984 to 1993. Won the Best Coach Award in the year 2009 for outstanding performance.

COVER STORY

Sportsmanship: the golden rule of sports Shibu P. P

Sportsmanship leads a man or women to overcome the difficult situations in their day to day life. A good sportsman faces the challenges of the difficult juncture of his life.

he spirit of sports is to embody a combination of qualities such as fairness, courtesy, generosity, grace and decency or in one word ‘sportsmanship’. Sports does not simply involve players, spectators, sports authorities, media, sponsors, in fact each and every group or faction that is even remotely associated with sports is a fundamental part of an event. And all of them, then, are expected to maintain a code of conduct and nurture the sporting spirit. Sportsmanship is the soul or essence of sports. It is a mental or psychological altitude that arouses a sense of fair play. Unless this psychological set-up is maintained, sports would become a testing

ground or a show of mere physical prowess and virility. Sports sans sportsmanship is a war, a combat, where winning is an end in itself. If sports encourages the development of a fine character, sports sans sportsmanship encourages outbursts of foul and animal instincts. Sportsmanship is a major thing of a human being. Sportsmanship leads a man or women to overcome the difficult situations in their day to day life. A good sportsman faces the challenges of the difficult juncture of his life. Sportsmanship is an aspiration or ethos that a sport or activity will be enjoyed for its own sake, with proper consideration for fairness, ethics, respect and a sense of fellowship with one’s

competitors. A sore loser refers to one who doesn’t take defeat well, where as a good sports means being “a good winner “as well as being a “good loser”. A competitor who exhibits poor sportsman ship after losing a game or contest is often called a “sore loser”. Sore loser behavior includes blaming others for the lose in an immature or improper fashions, making excuses for the defeat and citing unfavorable conditions other petty issues as reasons for the defeat. The lack of sportsman ship is the reason of Luyi Saras of Uruguay bite his opponent Georgio Chillini of Italy in the 2014-15 world cup foot ball. This incident is the best example of lack of sportsman ship. A bad winner acts in a shallow fashion after his or her victory,

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COVER STORY

Stay cool. Even if others cheer your teammate on with positive statements whether you win or lose, congratulate your opponent on a game well played. such as by gloating about his or her win, rubbing the win in the face of the opponents, and lowering the opponents of “poor performance “in compassion if the opponent competed well. Some people define good sportsmanship as the “golden rule” of sports in other words, treating the people you play with and against as you would like to be treated yourself. You demonstrate good sportsmanship when you show respect for yourself, your teammate and your opponent for the coaches on both side, and for the referees, judges and other officials. Sports man ship isn’t just reserved for the people on the field. Cheerleaders, fans and parents also need to be aware of how they behave during competitions. Sportsmanship is a style and an attitude, and if can have a positive influence in

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everyone around you. Learn as much as you can about your sports, play by its rules, shown up for practice, work hard and realize that on a team everyone deserves a chance to play, before, during, and after games and events. That includes your teammate your opponents, your coaches and their coaches, the officials presiding over the game, and even spectators. Stay cool. Even if others cheer your teammate on with positive statements whether you win or lose, congratulate your opponent on a game well played. Good sportsmanship means not having a “win at any cost” attitude. Those athletes who don’t have a “win at any cost” attitude are more likely to talk about how much they love their sports and how much

personal satisfaction and enjoyment they get from participation One of the main advantages of playing any sport is that it teaches us to cope with these failures and disappointments that come our way and to make renewed efforts to achieve success next time. After being defeated in a game repeatedly one begins to learn to fight better and yet accept the defeat gracefully. The same is said to one’s life too. There are times when we fail at our jobs or we fail to do our duty or we may even lose some great things in life, if we lose hope and curse our fate we can never progress in life. The author is assistant director, Physical Education, Rajajgiri School of Engineering & Technology. He is a qualified volleyball official and a well known sports organizer.

COVER STORY

Benefits of sports Thomas Chacko

Fighting for a common goal with a host of other players, teachers and coaches will teach students how to build a collective team synergy and effectively communicate the best way to solve problems en route to a victory.

ith the 2014 FIFA World Cup in full swing, a couple of billion viewers are glued every day to their television sets, often late into the night, watching the world’s greatest footballers weave their magic on carpets of green. Aficionados swear by the game, but there are many who think that team games like football are a waste of time and energy, and money, too.

especially parents of school and college students, think that sports distract students from their studies. However, it is the opposite that is true - games, in fact, helps them to focus on their studies. There is an age old saying “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy”. Undoubtedly, there’s great truth in this adage.

Although many parents, especially Indian parents, focus so much on their children’s Yes indeed, outdoor sports do take up a lot studies, and would not like them to while away their time playing games, the smarter of time and energy. These days with the ones know that for their offspring to have kind of workload that students have to a proper education with all- round growth, bear, the question arises: Can today’s they must, in addition to their studies, take youngsters afford the time and the energy part in games regularly. Physical exercise is expended in playing games? Many,

good for the body, and many people now use treadmills or go to gyms and exercise there. That is good and such exercise will definitely build up strength and muscle. However, for all-round development, students must participate in team games such as football, hockey, basketball, and volleyball. Such games build up team spirit, something that is so important in working life. Fighting for a common goal with a host of other players, teachers and coaches will teach students how to build a collective team synergy and effectively communicate the best way to solve problems en route to a victory. This will be very helpful later in life when

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COVER STORY

Team games also prevent people from becoming loners. They build confidence and self esteem. Because every member of a sports team works toward a common goal, players will learn firsthand how their performance impacts the rest of the team. encountering problems in the work place, at the home-front, or in any other arena. Sports also teach students to become leaders - to work well with others, and to strive towards a goal. In the process they will learn what it means to be part of a winning team. Even losses will teach so much. Players learn to graciously accept a victory or a defeat. So, when difficulties come their way later in life, the experience on the playing field will enable students to take them in their stride. They will also learn to take triumphs well without boasting or crowing about them. People appreciate a good loser, but they love a gracious winner.

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academically than those who donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t. They also get preference in admission to colleges and, because of the confidence they gain from doing well in competitive games, perform well in recruitment interviews. The reason for this is that sports require memorisation, repetition, and learning. These are skill-sets that are directly relevant to class work. Also, the determination and goal-setting skills that sports require can be transferred to the class-room. The author is an adventurer, motor sports enthusiast, published author and qualified company secretary.

COVER STORY

Remarkable growth of sports industry Jeji Paul

Rising number sports enthusiasts among youth has contributed to growth of sports goods industry. Government has introduced special schemes and allocated funds to encourage sports even in villages. Sales of fitness equipments is also picking up in Kerala market.

ports goods manufacturing in India is gaining momentum as more and more players entered into the race recently. Indian sports goods sector marked remarkable growth compared to international markets, in the last fiscal. Sports goods account for 0.2 per cent of the retail market in India which translates into $1 billion (Rs 4,493 crore). The market is growing at 35-40 per cent a year and is expected to reach $3.6 billion (Rs 16,174 crore) by 2015. The growth in sporting goods is expected on account of increasing awareness about health and fitness in the country. Rising number sports enthusiasts among youth has contributed to growth of sports goods industry. Government has introduced special schemes and allocated funds to encourage sports even in villages. Sales of fitness equipments is also picking up in Kerala market. Fitness-equipments

has 50% share of the total sports good market. House wives and middle aged people are the major customers of treadmills, home gyms, orbit rack etc. Orbit racks with starting price of Rs 8000 and mini home gyms with more than 18 stations with starting price of Rs 75000 are available in the market.

is a niche player in manufacturing. For instance, inflated balls produced in India are largely hand stitched and, therefore, have better bounce than the machinestitched balls from China; this gives them an advantage over China in European markets where hand-stitched balls are preferred.

Badminton and Cricket goods are the major players in Central Travancore market and football is leading in Malabar region. Most of the sports goods manufacturers are based in Punjab and 90% of the sports goods available in Indian market are produced in Jalandhar. Meerut houses the rest of the manufacturing units. Jalandhar is often known as the â&#x20AC;&#x153;sports capital of Indiaâ&#x20AC;?.

India is one of the largest producers of footballs and other inflatable balls. The products such as cricket bat, cricket ball, football and nets are getting fame all over the world steadily. Indian sports goods industry produces more than 300 items.

India is among the largest sports goods manufacturers in Asia after countries like China and Japan. Although its share in global trade is only around one per cent, it

The sports goods industry in India has witnessed phenomenal growth over the past five decades and now occupies a place of prominence in the Indian economy in terms of its massive potential for employment generation and export. The author is area sales manager of Nivia Sports.

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COVER STORY

Careers in sports Sports have opened up many career opportunities for young talents in India. After acquiring training in various sports academies, one can opt for building a career as a sportsperson and play at state-level first and then explore opportunities at national and international levels.

areer in sports has emerged as one of the most lucrative options in India. Although cricket is considered second to none in India, in terms of its popularity, there still exist people who have developed inclination towards other forms of sports as well, predominantly football and hockey. Looking at the tremendous success in the recent Commonwealth Games and other major international sporting events, some unconventional games like wrestling, lawn tennis, badminton, and shooting, have made sports as one of the chosen career options in India. More and more academies are coming up, dedicated specially to impart training in different types of sporting activities. In India, the Sports Authority of India (SAI) is the apex body that is bestowed with the responsibility of encouraging young talent to develop interest in sports and excel in their chosen sporting activities. Government and private academies functioning under SAI provide formal training in various sporting activities, to create sportspersons who can bring laurels to the country at national and international levels. Course details A number of institutes in India provide training in sports. Aspirants with amazing sporting abilities can join these institutes, after completing their 10+2 level, in undergraduate, diploma, and certificate programs. After graduation, they can enroll in one-year PG diploma or two-year

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masterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s degree program in sports coaching in the following disciplines - athletics, basketball, football, gymnastics, hockey, swimming, volleyball, wrestling, and weightlifting, and masterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s degree course in physical education in recognized sports events. Candidates with MBBS degree can take up a two-year diploma course in Sports Medicine (DSM). Some institutes offer higher level courses, like M.Phil and PhD for deserving candidates.

Career prospects Sports have opened up many career opportunities for young talents in India. After acquiring training in various sports academies, one can opt for building a career as a sportsperson and play at state-level first and then explore opportunities at national and international levels. Apart from serving as a player, an experienced sportsperson can also work as a coach, team manager, fitness instructor, umpire/ referee, sports journalist/sports

commentator, sports photographer, sports equipment supplier/manufacturer, and consultant. Top colleges offering UG/PG/other courses There are several academies and institutes under Sports Authority of India (SAI) that impart training to young students to transform them into talented sportspersons. Some prominent sports institutes in India are: Lakshmibai National Institute of Physical Education, Gwalior; Lakshmibai National College for Physical Education, Thiruvananthapuram; MRF Pace Foundation, Chennai; Tata Football Academy, Jamshedpur; National Cricket Academy, Bangalore; Gujarat University, Ahmedabad; National Sports East Centre, Kolkata; Adarsh College of Physical Education, Osmanabad; Amity School of Physical Education and Sports Sciences, Noida; Netaji Subhas National Institute of Sports, Patiala; Bhupathi Tennis Academy, Bangalore; and Indira Gandhi Institute of Physical Education and Sports Sciences, New Delhi. Remuneration The remuneration of sportspersons totally depends on the sporting activity chosen. In this vigorous and spirited field, what matters is not merely the number of years of experience in the field, but also the capability of the sportsperson to deliver excellent performance consistently.

COVER STORY

Sportsman spirit - its kicks P K George Tharakan

Winner in a race is who finishes first followed by the rest. All participants stand to be winners; for without them there is no race. It boils down to saying there are no losers if the right spirit holds on. Victory stand is just for three, at best. Where all others stand is certainly the victory ground, the players’ ground better still, the winners’ ground.

portsman spirit is being gentlemanly in games. It is realizing that real pleasure is in playing it all and not in winning it as much. For those spirited (or is it gifted better?), winning is but a result and not the purpose. The right spirit is keeping one’s chin up even in the face of adversity as if enjoying the down turn, taking it for another opportunity to soar, spiritedly. The drive is essentially the love for the game and not for the trophy. Love for the game includes honoring rules of the game religiously as well as respecting every

participant, opponent, umpire, judge and viewers, all the while being immersed in it wholesome Winner in a race is who finishes first followed by the rest. All participants stand to be winners; for without them there is no race. It boils down to saying there are no losers if the right spirit holds on. Victory stand is just for three, at best. Where all others stand is certainly the victory ground, the players’ ground better still, the winners’ ground. Rules of the game run sacrosanct. Equity kick starts it and fairness keeps up the

pace. There is no prejudice, duress, favoritism, discrimination and the likes whereas honesty, integrity, loyalty and sincerity abound in full measure. You owe allegiance to your team; let others too likewise. An entertaining fight follows and in the back drops are cries of hey, hurrah, viva et al. And the end result is satisfaction that the game is played at best. It is fighting for pleasure sake, not with a killing spree. It’s precisely like we applaud. As we clap, our palms hit each other face to face in merriment, not to finish off the other.

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COVER STORY

“It was seen by two or three billion people on television and millions of children too were watching for whose sake I apologize”, said France’s Zinedine Zidane after head butting Italy’s Materazzi in the infamous World Cup Finals 2006. It was remorse flowing out of the fountain that sportsman spirit swells up. Uruguay striker Luis Suarez has been banned for 4 months from playing Sport s is where they say you break a internationals for biting Italy’s Chiellini in record while you actually make a record; it the on-going World Cup 2014. Sportsman runs succinct a paradox. Let us extend this spirit prompted Chiellini as he exclaimed paradigm to several real life situations that the punishment was too hard for that where players per chance broke off limits kind of an incident. It was as good as and yet restored it all in right spirits. saying, “He wronged me but then he is still “It was seen by two or three billion people my play mate who erred but we still can be more kindly than necessary”. Similar is on television and millions of children too Maradona’s subsequent comment “hand of were watching for whose sake I God” in the classic head goal he managed apologize”, said France’s Zinedine Zidane aprtly with his hand – FIFA 1986. “All the after head butting Italy’s Materazzi in the world’s a stage” wrote Shakespeare. And infamous World Cup Finals 2006. It was the stage settings may lack perfection; the remorse flowing out of the fountain that performing characters too may lack sportsman spirit swells up. Make, break and remake

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perfection. Notwithstanding the imperfections, we still can rock nearperfect. That we have lost a game is no meaning we are lost. It may be the end of a chapter, not of the story book. There follows more folios of unseen and unknown trajectory. If the make-break-remake syndrome goes fine with sportsman spirit, why not we put it into the equation of life as well and rock n roll. The author is a practicing lawyer in Ernakulam and an ardent public speaker. He has represented Toastmaster’s Club in District level contests in Sri Lanka.

COVER STORY

Soccer: the game for life Rejeesh T. Chacko

“The practice of sport is a human right. Every individual must have the possibility of practicing sport, without discrimination of any kind and in the Olympic spirit, which requires mutual understanding with a spirit of friendship, solidarity and fair play.” – Olympic Charter. Introduction

Soccer

Along with the physical, mental, physiological and cognitive development, team games teach students lesson that will help them to succeed in their personal and professional lives. In our professional colleges after their class hours most students, it revolves around a coffee corner, gadget, mobiles and TV shows. Guardians and even teachers don’t realize that by not playing team games regularly, our students are missing out on valuable lessons for life and not even taste the feeling of winning and losing. This might be why problems such as stress, depression, bullying, suicide and drug addiction.

A game played on a rectangular field with net goals at either end in which two teams of 11 players each try to drive a ball into the other’s goal by kicking, heading, or using any part of the body except the arms and hands. The goalie is the only player who may touch or move the ball with the arms or hands.

Soccer is the most popular game in the college campus around Kerala. It’s easy to play and less expensive too. While pursuing soccer helps students develop emotional strength to take victory and defeat in their stride, not only soccer any team games teaches them other lesson such

as tolerance and team spirit. Playing soccer helps student’s social behavior, academics, physical, psychological, physiological and emotional development. Soccer and psychosocial effects Human beings are social animals. Be it an organization or a family set-up, only team work can sustain it. But today students grow up in isolation. The formation of a soccer personality includes most particularly the correct social behavior, aside from multiple important developments (e.g. self-confidence or ability to respond positively to criticism). The rules of conduct in a social community such as a soccer team are precisely a

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COVER STORY

Team games really help every student in their future lives regarding making of good decisions, positive approach while losing and face the challenges in their life. reason for many young people to soccer play. While playing soccer, our students get used to certain rules of conduct at an early stage. Only then will these rules become a normal part of life and do not remain forced instructions.

likelihood of progressing to higher education. Team sport was the only extracurricular activity to have a consistent and significant effect on students’ grades across all schools.

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Improved health due to shifts between walking, running and sprinting

Teaches coordination Promotes teamwork and sharing Teaches you to think on-the-go Helps to increase skills in concentration, persistence and selfdiscipline Is a great way to meet people and exercise with friends

Better academics with this beautiful game

Academics from the University of South Carolina and Pennsylvania State University, both in the US, studied data from 9,700 high school students aged 1418.They attended schools in urban, suburban and rural areas and participated in a variety of extracurricular activities, including academic and vocational clubs, performing arts societies and team sports. The academics looked for correlations between the types of after-school activities undertaken by the teenagers and their school success, including the

Increases muscle and bone strength

There are many other benefits from playing a team sport like soccer.

A recent analysis of data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health found evidence of a positive association between team games and components of mental health, including selfesteem, emotional well-being, spirituality, and future expectations. When participation in team games also included parental involvement, the behavioral risk profile became even more positive.

Team sport is the only extracurricular activity to make a significant difference to students’ academic grades, new research has revealed. Survey of 14-18 year olds shows competitive sport has a bigger impact on a student’s grades than joining the debating or drama club. When the definition of Physical Fitness includes aspects other than cardiovascular fitness, there seems evidence of positive correlations between various measures of psychomotor performance, cognitive abilities and academic achievement. Psychomotor performance shares many common neurological mechanisms with cognitive functions.

Builds strength, flexibility and endurance

Can provide an opportunity to increase your confidence and selfesteem, and help to reduce anxiety Requires very little equipment so can be played in the backyard or park Is relatively easy to learn, so beginners can easily join in on the fun and play basic soccer for recreation. Building of moral values Adults believe that it is very important for sport to reinforce a variety of wholesome values—led by honesty, fair play, respect for others, doing your best, Soccer is one of the most widely played teamwork, and fun. Interestingly, and complex sports in the world, where competitiveness and winning rank as the players need technical, tactical, and least important values to reinforce through physical skills to succeed. However, sport, but as highest in terms of the values studies to improve soccer performance that sport is actually reinforcing. In have often focused on technique and addition, fewer than half of adults believe tactics at the expense of physical resources that sport is doing a good job of reinforcing such as endurance, strength, and speed. their top five important values. Soccer can be a great workout and lots of Successive future lives fun. The Physical benefits include: Team games really help every student in Increases aerobic capacity and their future lives regarding making of good cardiovascular health decisions, positive approach while losing and face the challenges in their life. As Lowers body fat and improves expressed by William Damon of the muscle tone Stanford Center on Adolescence,” The Physical and psychological benefits of playing Soccer among students

COVER STORY

Successful sports experiences provide benefits – gains in social and interpersonal competence, fitness, health-mindedness, and psychological well-being – that have been shown to last throughout life. future of any society depends on the character and competence of its young. In order to develop their competence young people need guidance to provide them with direction and a sense of purpose. They need relationships that embody and communicate high standards. They need to experience activities that are challenging, inspiring, and educative.

Participation in sports, as a member of a team, plays an important role in the social, emotional and physical development of a

To protect yourself from injury and prepare your body to play soccer, make sure you: Warm up your muscles and joints before starting Maintain your fitness to play well and avoid injury or fatigue Ensure you have plenty of fluids on hand and rehydrate regularly

Conclusion Soccer is the most popular sport in the world and is an ideal sport for fitness, health, strength and endurance. Soccer, or football as it’s also called, is ideal for players of all ages. Soccer is not just about playing by the rules; it is also about playing within the spirit of the rules.

– that have been shown to last throughout life.

Don’t overdo it – depending on your age and physical condition. student. Successful sports experiences provide benefits – gains in social and interpersonal competence, fitness, healthmindedness, and psychological well-being

Wear the correct protective equipment. The author is assistant director, Physical Education, Rajajgiri School of Engineering & Technology.

Pallikkutam | July 2014

POLICY W ATCH

The mysterious Indian higher education system-1 Dr. D.Dhanuraj Rahul V Kumar

Considering our significantly increasing population, India has reached a point whereby any delay in developing an efficient education system is likely to affect the demographic dividend that we currently enjoy.

Introduction Indiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s education system has undergone several reforms since independence. Literacy rates which roughly reflect these changes have increased from below 20 per cent in 1951 to approximately 74 per cent in 2011. However, the implementation of these reforms have been challenged at various levels. Although programmes as large as the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan for universal primary education as well as the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory

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Education Act (2009) were enacted, the structural constraints in the political economy of India have delayed its proper implementation. For instance child labour still haunts the theme of universal education for children below 14 years of age. Another observation is that while net enrolment ratio in primary school level is close to 98 per cent for male and female students, the net attendance ratio is much lesser at approximately 82 per cent for male and female combined. The net attendance ratio in secondary school

participation falls much below at 55 per cent for male and female students combined. This indicates that the policy of universal education has not been able to attract and sustain students for completing their primary and secondary education requirements.1Considering our significantly increasing population, India has reached a point whereby any delay in developing an efficient education system is likely to affect the demographic dividend that we currently enjoy. While we have fared well in increasing our literacy levels, the rate of

POLICY WATCH

While educational institutions are meant to be registered as not-for-profit organizations, there is a proliferation of cronies and politicians flocking to hold key positions in this sector. educated unemployment has been slowly increasing alongside it. An estimate by Alakh N. Sharma of the Institute of Human Development (IHD) New Delhi says that one third of our total unemployed people hold graduate degrees.2 This is a cause of concern due to the fact that India is projected to be the youngest country with approximately 64 per cent of its population going to be in the working age group by 2020. The population in the age group 15-34 is a staggering 430 million in 2011.

India. These colleges constitute the first steps towards higher education in India. What we see in table 1 is that out of the 8000 plus colleges in our country recognized by the UGC only 274 or less that 4 per cent of the colleges are considered by the UGC as having a potential for excellence. Among all states selected states like Kerala, Arunachal

The Issue Have our policies in education been accommodative to these concerns? It is pejorative to judge the system based on the literacy levels alone. However, it is definitely worthwhile to look at the educational policies followed at least by those states currently at the lower rungs of literacy levels. In these series of articles we have attempted to identify some inherent policy vacuums and results affecting the higher education system in India. There is a deep contrast in how the federal government has followed the policy of educational reforms. The knots which has tangled the primary level education seems to have been easily untied at the higher levels. While educational institutions are meant to be registered as not-for-profit organizations, there is a proliferation of cronies and politicians flocking to hold key positions in this sector. Before we examine specific issues with the growing number of private universities, Table 1 gives a quick glance on the number of colleges recognized by the UGC across states in

Pradesh, Haryana and Himachal have at least 5 per cent of their education institutions as CPEs. Although the mandated target of the UGC is to focus on 3 per cent of the colleges in individual states and union territories, proliferation of colleges in the first place leads to questions on such mandatory conditions. There is a huge gap between what the UGC can support and what it has in front

of it.It is interesting to note that within such large numbers of colleges there has also been a corresponding rise in the number of private universities in India. Private universities in India follow the guidelines of the UGC (Establishment and Maintenance of Standards in Private Universities) Regulations, 2003. The state legislative has a predominant say in deciding granting this status to an educational institution. They operate without financial assistance from the state. However, a Supreme Court legislation has made it mandatory that these universities require UGC recognition for their functioning. Periodic inspections and appraisals by the UGC are mandatory for the functioning of these universities. The latest numbers show that there are 184 private universities in India in 20 states. Table 2 shows one such disparity in the manner in which policies influence higher education. The states shown in the table are those which have private universities enacted through state legislations. These universities are supposed to cater to the youth pursuing higher education in the country. Out of these twenty states at least 13 have relatively low literacy rates compared to the rest of India. Out of these 13, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh (UP) are noteworthy. They rank 29th and 33rd with respect to the literacy levels achieved, roughly indicating the status of primary and secondary education levels in these

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POLICY W ATCH

If we take the specific case of Uttar Pradesh, we find that in all the 21 private universities in the state, 7 of them have politicians with active stake in the management while seven others have businessmen holding key positions. states. However, when we examine the number of universities and colleges in these states we are presented by a contrasting picture. These states together account for close to 30 per cent of the private universities in the country and approximately 33 per cent of the UGC recognized colleges in the country. A contrasting observation is that only two of the top 10 states as far as literacy levels are concerned feature in this list of states which have private universities in them. While the list is conspicuous with the absence of south Indian states and Kerala in particular, it is also indicative of the wrong turn that the educational apparatus of the country is following. If we take the specific case of Uttar Pradesh, we find that in all the 21 private universities in the state, 7 of them have politicians with active stake in the management while seven others have businessmen holding key positions. In at least one of these universities, the vice chancellor and his relatives have been accused of rape and murder of one of their students. For all the curiosity that our growing literacy levels indicate these are some of the harsh realities that we need to face with our system in future. What needs to be explored is why such a situation, where higher educational institutions are increasingly infested by cronyism, is continuing unabated in the educational

Pallikkutam | July 2014

system of our country? A better alternative is longed for. We shall continue to understand and explore this system in the forthcoming issue.

The table shows only those states with private universities in them. Only 20 states have private universities in India as per the UGC. Ranking on literacy is made considering all the state and union territories in India to show the relative position of those states with private universities compared to the rest of India. 2

References 1

http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/ india_statistics.html

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/ opinion/interviews/Without-jobs-Indiasdemographic-dividend-will-be-a-disasterAlakh-N-Sharma/articleshow/ 30233665.cms

This is a target scheme of the UGC to select colleges based on several criteria which have excelled in teaching research and extension activities. These colleges are funded by the UGC to improve and strengthen its infrastructure with the aim of furthering its potentials. The UGC criteria is to target 3 per cent of the colleges in each state and union territory with strong eligibility requirements.

2f and 12b Colleges: â&#x20AC;&#x153;The UGC had notified Regulations for recognition of colleges under Section 2(f) of the UGC Act, 1956. The colleges are brought under the purview of UGC in terms of these Regulations as and when the proposals are received from the colleges for inclusion under Section 2(f) and they are found fit for inclusion as per the provisions contained in the Regulations. Apart from inclusion of colleges under Section 2(f), the UGC includes the Colleges under Section 12(B) of its Act in terms of Rules framed under the Act. This makes the colleges eligible for central assistance from the Government of India or any organization receiving funds from the Central Government.â&#x20AC;? Refer: http://www.ugc.ac.in/recog_College.aspx (To be continued.) Dr. D. Dhanuraj is Chairman, Centre for Public Policy Research and Rahul V Kumar is Associate Research Consultant, Centre for Public Policy Research.

INNO V ATION INNOV

A driverless future is drawing near

utonomous vehicles capable of communicating with the roads they are traveling on will feature in roads of future according to researchers of Carnegie Mellon University (CMU), USA. A convergence of technological innovations in embedded sensors, computer vision, artificial intelligence, control and automation, and computer processing power makes this feat a reality. The university is all set to demonstrate one of the most advanced autonomous vehicles ever designed, capable of navigating on urban roads and highways without human intervention. The researchers claim that their vehicle on the road will be safer without a driver than that with one. In 2007, Carnegie Mellon’s state-of-the-art driverless car, BOSS was launched. The

new vehicle, Cadillac SRX, is a successor to it. It looks much like any other car on the road. However, top-of-the-line radar, cameras, sensors and other technologies are built into the body of the vehicle. The car’s computers are tucked away under the floor. The goal of CMU’s researchers is simple but important: To develop a driverless car that can decrease injuries and fatalities on roads. In addition to controlling the steering, speed and braking, the autonomous systems in the vehicle also detect and avoid obstacles in the road, including pedestrians and bicyclists. The researchers have also added a technology that allows some of the traffic lights to wirelessly communicate with the car, telling it the status of the lights ahead

A sweet technology

rythritol, the calorie free sweetener, is widely used in Asia and is gaining popularity in Europe and America. It has a number of great advantages: it does not make you fat, it does not cause tooth decay, it has no effect on the blood sugar and, unlike other sweeteners it does not have a laxative effect. Erythritol is about 70 to 80 percent as sweet as sugar. Till the date erythritol is produced with the help of special kinds of yeast in highly concentrated molasses. The Vienna University of Technology has developed a cheap method to produce erythritol from straw with the help of mould fungi. The straw is the finely chopped and “opened up”: with the help of solvents, the cell walls are broken, the lignin is dissolved away. The remaining xylan and cellulose are then processed further. The enzymes opening up the straw can be obtained with the help of the mould fungus Trichoderma reesei. The mould can now produce erythritol directly from the straw. The intermediate step of producing molasses is not necessary anymore and no yeast has to be used

Facelock: Insight into a new password technology

orgotten passwords often create a menace. The root of the problem is a trade-off between memorability and security: simple passwords are easy to remember but easy to crack; complex passwords are hard to crack but hard to remember. The new technology, ‘Facelock’, is all set to put an end to forgotten passwords, and protect users from prying eyes. Decades of psychological research has revealed a fundamental difference in the recognition of familiar and unfamiliar faces. Humans can recognize familiar faces across a wide range of images, even when their image quality is poor. In contrast, recognition of unfamiliar faces is tied to a

specific image—so much so that different photos of the same unfamiliar face are often thought to be different people.

Facelock exploits this psychological effect to create a new type of authentication system. Psychological research has shown that familiarity with a face is virtually

impossible to lose and so this system is naturally robust. As well as being extremely durable, familiarity is very hard to fake. This makes the system difficult for fraudsters to crack. For the user, who is familiar with the target faces, it is easy to recognize the faces across a range of images. For the attacker, who is unfamiliar with the target faces, generalizing across images is difficult. It is hoped that software developers will now take this framework and turn it into a polished app, whilst other experts optimize the usability of the system. If those two things happen, you could see this system on your device in the next product cycle.

Pallikkutam | July 2014

INNO VATION INNOV

Millennial attitudes

illennials, the generation after Generation X, born in the 1980s and 1990s, form their own demographic group, with their own unique tastes. According to the panel at the 2014 Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) Annual Meeting & Food Expo®, Millennials are food savvy and tech savvy. In addition, they’re socially and environmentally conscience, making purchases that feel good to them and are good for the environment. They also want good taste and they want something to differentiate their experience from their friends. To do that, they want fun flavors and want to take part in creating their own products.

The ‘goose bump’ sensor

orea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), South Korea has developed a wearable humanmachine interface that quantitatively measures goose bumps. It is a step toward direct detection of human emotional states. The results are published in the journal Applied Physics Letters. The flexible, wearable 20mm x 20mm polymer sensor directly measures the degree and occurrence on the skin of goose bumps (technically known as “piloerection”), which is caused by sudden changes in body temperature or emotional states.

The technology is based on an electronic device known as a coplanar capacitor and detects goose bumps by virtue of a simple, linear relation between the deformation of the sensor and the decrease of the capacitance. Using the goose bump sensor it is possible to quantitatively monitor goose bumps in real-time as an indicator of human physical or emotional status. The possible fields of application include personalized advertising or music streams or any other service informed by direct access to the emotions of the end user.

Prayer builds unity in diverse organizations

rom Fortune 500 companies to political parties are scrambling to keep pace with the ever-growing diversity in their work-force and following due to globalization. A new study by University of Connecticut suggests that prayer can bring about unity in diverse organizations.

They are opinionated, posting their opinions of a product or a restaurant online with Twitter, Yelp and Facebook. This is how Millennials exercise their power and influence the market. Transparency is huge for Millennials. They want to know where their products come from and how they are processed. The major businesses are busy listening to Millennials to gain valuable insights as to their generation’s likes and dislikes and to keep pace with the changing market. IFT calls upon the industry to keep up with Millennials high-speed, digital-age expectations, if they’re going to gain and keep them as customers

Pallikkutam | July 2014

Specifically, the study finds that interfaith group prayer serves as a “bridging cultural practice” in the kinds of multi-faith community organizations. The study is published online on behalf of the American Sociological Review. The prayer practices are found to play a crucial role in binding participants together across significant racial and socioeconomic differences. The faith communities do this by being inclusive of multiple faith traditions, celebrating the diversity of the

group, and encouraging individuals to interact with each other. Far from being a source of division, religious practices play a unifying role in such groups. However, the kinds of “bridging” practices identified the researchers don’t have to be faith-based to be valuable. The researchers suggest that sharing meals, playing sports, or reading literature together could be similarly valuable to different types of organizations seeking to realize the benefits of member diversity. The key seems to be organizational flexibility and a willingness to embrace activities that emphasize shared identities through meaningful collective practices, according to the study.

ASPECTS

Microcosm and Macrocosm Dr. Augustine Thottakara

Embodied beings start their existence with the body (matter), they are sustained in life by matter (by food), and when they die, they merge into matter (into the five elements). So he concluded that matter (anna) should be the Brahman.

aittiriya Upanisad chapters II (Anandavalli) and III (Bhrguvalli) demand the seeker to meditate on Brahman on different levels of reality and in different forms in an ascending order, that is starting from the lowest level to the highest. Chapter III narrates this theme through the story of Bhrgu. Bhrgu, a Brahmin boy, being desirous of knowing Brahman, once approached his father Varuna and requested him to teach him about Brahman (adhihi bhagavo brahma). Varuna did not give his son a discourse on Brahman, but gave him a short but apt definition of Brahman: “That Being from which these beings are born, that Being by which the born beings are kept alive and that Being into which these beings enter into when they die, know That, that is

Brahman.” (Tait Up II.1), and asked his son to practise penance and meditation and realize Brahman by his own efforts. The Upanisad continues that Bhrgu by penance and meditation successively arrived at the conclusions that food or matter, the vital breath, mind and consciousness was Brahman, each time, at the advice of the father, rising from a lower level to a higher one. Finally Bhrgu comes to the pure Bliss (ananda) and rightly realizes it as the supreme Brahman. These different levels are known as sheaths (kosas) of Reality. 2. The Concentric Kosa (sheath)Paradigm of the Reality 2.1. The Sheath of Matter (annamayakosa): Bhrgu did penance and meditation for a long time, as his father asked him to

do, and then came back to his father and said ‘anna (matter/food) is Brahman’. His thought and meditation on the definition of Brahman given by his father remained on the physical level. Embodied beings start their existence with the body (matter), they are sustained in life by matter (by food), and when they die, they merge into matter (into the five elements). So he concluded that matter (anna) should be the Brahman. “Whatever creatures are on the earth, truly, all of them are born from food. By food and food alone they remain alive. They return to it at the end. ... Those who contemplate food as Brahman really obtain all food. ... Food is called ‘annam’, because creatures consume it and are consumed by it” (Tait Up II.2). The first step to know Brahman is to

Pallikkutam | July 2014

ASPECTS meditate on Brahman as physical entity, which has measurability and dimensionality, and which could be experienced directly. His father said to him, ‘matter/food is important, and you have to meditate on it as the physical manifestation of the supreme Reality. You have to use it for your existence, but at the same time you have to transcend it for your salvation, because matter is not Brahman’. 2.2. The Sheath of the Vital Air (pranamaya-kosa): Bhrgu, the young seeker, again engaged in intense meditation and practice of austerities, and then came to his father and said ‘the vital breath indeed is the Brahman’. He found that the definition of Brahman applies here. Life of beings begins with vital breath, it is sustained by this energy and when breathing stops the beings die, the life breath enters into element of air. “Verily, other than that one which consists of the essence of food, and contained by it, is this self consisting of vital energy (prana) by which this annamaya-self is filled...” (Tait Up II.2)... “Whatever gods or men or animals exist, all of them depend on prana for their life ... Those who contemplate prana as Brahman assuredly attain full span of life. ...” (Tait Up II.3). His father said to him, ‘you are now on a higher level. Prana, the vital air, is subtler and higher than the sheath of matter. It is this vital energy that supports life and animates matter. As long as you breathe you are alive. Still it is not the supreme Self. 2.3. The Sheath of Mind (manomayakosa): Again after long spiritual practices Bhrgu approached his father and said, ‘mind is the supreme Being’. “Other than that self consisting of prana there is within it another self consisting of manas by which this pranamaya-self is filled’. ... (Tait Up II.3). But his father was not satisfied. Mind is higher and nobler than the vital breath. It is a psychic faculty; it registers the experiences of humans, synthesises them, and helps the self to form knowledge-judgements. It is a spiritual substance, and is not restricted by the material body. It is all pervading and limitless. To arrive at the knowledge of Brahman the spiritual aspirant has to use the mind, but should transcend also this sheath.

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2.4. The Sheath of Consciousness (vijnanamaya-kosa): Bhrgu’s resolve to know and experience the ultimate Reality was firm and uncompromising, and the delays and snags on the way did not diminish his zeal and determination to march forward to the goal. After further purification of mind through prayer and meditation, he came to the conclusion that consciousness is the Brahman. “Different from that self which consists of manas, there is other inner self which consists of vijnana (intelligence) by which this manomaya-self is filled”. ...(Tait Up II.4). The inner principle of mind and the faculty that gives

finite, transient, imperfect and gross. The vital air is non-conscious, finite, and according to Indian philosophy, material. The mind is incomplete and changeable. The sheath of consciousness is identified with the individual self, which is totally dependent on God for its existence and function. The first two sheaths, namely, matter and vital air, are two elements of the material world, namely, earth and air. The next two sheaths, namely, mind and consciousness, are faculties of knowledge of the self. Voluntary actions and rational and cognitive decisions are carried out by these two internal psychic principles. From the sphere of matter the seeker rises to the realm of consciousness.

But these four sheaths are not Brahman. Prana, the vital The meditator has to transcend them. They are very important for the self in air, is subtler and embodied existence and are instruments higher than the sheath of God-realization; and therefore, they to be included in the scheme of of matter. It is this vital are meditation. So the process of the energy that supports life realization of Brahman, using this of understanding of the and animates matter. As method reality, may be characterized as the long as you breathe you inclusive transcendence. The supreme Reality is the pure Bliss, which then are alive. Still it is not cannot be considered as a sheath, but the very centre and point of reference of the supreme the other sheaths. Self. 3. The Universe is the Macrocosm orientation to the mind is consciousness. It is the distinguishing characteristic, the essence, of the self or soul. One becomes a real person only through consciousness. Philosophers like Ramanuja identify this sheath with the individual self. 2.5. The Sheath of Pure Bliss (anandamaya-kosa): “... Within this vijnanamya self and apart from it is the self consisting of Bliss by which the former is filled” (Tait Up II.5). This is the highest Reality and the inner principle and controller of the individual selves. The realization of this Bliss is the highest goal of all existence. The non-dualistic philosophers identify the pure Bliss with the individual self, which however, does not seem to correspond to the real spirit of this Upanisadic text. Pure unalloyed, eternal and boundless Bliss is God; the bliss and happiness of all other beings is shared bliss and conditional. In this system of meditation, the aspirant finds out that food (matter) is perishable,

In the universe, which is the macrocosm, there is the harmonious combination of all these sheaths. It is constituted of matter, life in three levels, namely, vegetative, animal and human, consciousness and at the apex God, who is ultimate cause and Lord of the universe and the centre and supreme goal of all creation. It is the greatest good of humans. The seeker finds rest only in this supreme Bliss. The lower levels cannot satisfy his thirst for fullness and total happiness. Humanity together with the entire universe is on the pilgrimage to this Bliss, to God, the Omega point. 4. Man is the Microcosm In man (humans) there is a harmonious blending of all these five sheaths or kosas. He is a combination of matter, life, mind and senses, consciousness and God. At the bottom one end is the lifeless, transient, imperfect and gross matter; and at the other end is the supreme, pure bliss, which is God himself, who is pure spirit,

ASPECTS

The cosmos, which consists of individual selves (microcosm) and world of matter (macrocosm) form God’s body. They are totally and radically dependent on God for their existence and for their functions. This awareness, in fact, is the starting point of expressing our dependency on God by loving devotion (bhakti) and self surrender. eternal, transcendent and beyond all mutabilities of the world. God is the inner Controller and Lord of all. The essence of the Upanisadic spirituality may be viewed as a pilgrimage of man to this supreme Bliss, using, but also transcending, the lower manifestations of the Reality. It is an ascent of the self in embodied existence to the supreme Self from matter, life, mind and consciousness. 5. God the Centre of Microcosm and Macrocosm Ramanuja, the philosopher-saint, who established the Qualified Non-dualism (Visista-advaita Vedanta), puts God in the centre of microcosm and macrocosm, and conceives these two relaities as God’s body. Ramanuja advocated three main principles (tattva-traya): God (Isvara), individual selves (cit) and matter (acit). Theoretically individual selves and the world of matter have separate existence and individuality; but existentially they are completely dependent on God to be and to do. The individual self is knower (jnatr), enjoyer (bhoktr) and doer (kartr). It enjoys freedom in its actions, a freedom however, that is given by God. Ultimately the individual self is subservient to the will of God in the exercise of this triple function. Matter possesses the potency for evolution into different objects of the world. But this evolution takes place under the supervision of almighty God. Ramanuja expresses this ‘dependentindependent’ relation between God and universe with the concept of body-soul relationship (sarira-sariri-bhava). God is the inner Controller and inner Self of the entire universe, and the universe forms his attributive body. He compares it with the relationship between human body and soul. Human body is supported, enlivened and controlled by the soul or self. The body alone can never survive. If

the soul withdraws its assistance, the body is dead and is to be disposed of. In the same way God is the innermost Self of all and the universe is his body. Without God’s support and guidance man and matter cannot exist and function. An objection could be raised here: The universe, which includes the individual selves and matter, is imperfect, finite, changeable, ignorant and corrupt. Will not these inferior qualities of his body compromise his perfection, infinitude, immutability, omniscience, omnipotence, etc.? Ramanuja answers that this cannot happen, because the universe is not his real body, it is only his attributive body. Just like the colour, age, health, size, strength and other qualities of the human body never affect the human soul, so too, the imperfections of the universe never influence the immutable, eternal, perfect Reality, God. 6. Upanisad on God-man-matter Relation However, the conception of universe as God’s body is not Ramanuja’s invention. Brhadaranyaka Upanisad narrates a debate between Yajnavalkya and another Upanisadic philosopher named Uddalaka, the son of Aruna. Uddalaka asked Yajnavalkya about the inner controller of all beings. Yajnavalkya replied by enumerating a long list of things and said that Brahman is the inner controller of all and that all these things form the body of Brahman. He begins with the earth and said: “He who dwells in the earth and is within it, but whom the earth does not know, whose body is the earth and who controls the earth from within, He is the inner Controller; He is your Self, the Immortal”. The philosopher then repeats this sentence and says that God is the inner Controller and inner Self of water, fire, mid-space, air, heaven, sun, all the directions, moon and stars, ether, darkness, light, all beings, vital

breath, speech, eye, ear, mind, skin, intellect and semen. Yajnavalkya concludes his long discourse with the following statement: “He is never seen, but is the seer; He is never heard, but is the hearer; He is never thought of, but is the thinker; He is not known, but is the knower. There is no other hearer than he, there is no other thinker than he, there is no other knower than he. He is the inner controller - your own Self and the Immortal. Everything else besides him is sorrowful”. In short Yajnavalkya was saying that all the great elements by which the universe is constituted, all the sense organs of knowledge, all the organs of activity, and finally all the individual selves, all these things, form the body of God. God is the inner Self of everything, beginning from the non-conscious, changeable matter and ending in the conscious, immutable individual selves. Mahabharata, the great Epic poem of India, said the same thing: The father of all creatures, God, made the sky. From the sky he made water and from water he made fire and air. From fire and air the earth came into existence. Mountains are his bones, earth is the flesh, sea is the blood, sky is his abdomen. Air is his breath, fire is his splendour, rivers are nerves. The sun and moon which are called Agni and Soma, are the eyes of Brahman. The upper part of the sky is his head. The earth is his feet and directions (disa) are the hands. Therefore, the cosmos, which consists of individual selves (microcosm) and world of matter (macrocosm) form God’s body. They are totally and radically dependent on God for their existence and for their functions. This awareness, in fact, is the starting point of expressing our dependency on God by loving devotion (bhakti) and self surrender.

Pallikkutam | July 2014

CAREER

Career in Architecture Besides educational qualifications, a person should possess good eyesight, observation skills, creativity, analytical and mathematical ability and dexterity in drawing and sketching to succeed as an architect. Architecture in India Architecture means the art and science of designing buildings and other physical structures. However, over the past few years the concept has vastly metamorphosed from dealing in urban design and landscape architecture to construction of furniture. Courses Aspiring architects need either a Bachelor’s degree (BArch) or diploma in architecture. The basic eligibility criterion for BArch courses is class XII or equivalent, referred to as the qualifying examination from a recognised board/university with a minimum of 50% in science subjects (physics, chemistry and mathematics).

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Besides, the candidate needs to clear an architecture entrance exam.”Even at the undergraduate level, architecture students are usually given an overview of areas directly related to architecture that they often tend to specialise in later. These include disciplines such as urban or rural planning, transport planning, urban design, landscape design, interior design, urban or building conservation, design of sustainable buildings, construction management, architecture theory, history and pedagogy, and so on. These days, a number of architecture graduates also turn towards other design or software related disciplines,” informs Shubhrajit Das, head of the department of architecture, Jadavpur University. Besides educational

qualifications, a person should possess good eyesight, observation skills, creativity, analytical and mathematical ability and dexterity (in drawing and sketching) to succeed as an architect. Additionally, a burning desire to update one’s knowledge of latest developments in structural techniques and materials, an understanding of legal and financial matters and a good perception of social and psychological attitude, and an authoritative personality gives one an edge. For freshers, working in a well-known architectural firm or with professionals who have been in this field for a longer period, helps towards learning the practical aspects of this profession before one sets out on his/her own.

CAREER

These days, a number of architecture graduates also turn towards other design or software related disciplines The role of landscape architects and environment planners has become crucial Future scope The scope for making a career in architecture has never been as big as it is today. Says Vivek Rathore, architect, “Thanks to technological advancement and big-scale projects, a number of specialisations such as building sciences, building material engineering, project management, urban planning, urban design and landscape architecture have emerged in this field.” Anuradha Rathore, also an architect by profession, echoes similar views with a stress on landscape architecture, “With the rising demand for sustainable architecture, the role of landscape architects and environment planners has become important. Landscape architects are now participating in the design process — right from conceptualisation to the master plan.” Like any other industry, getting the first break is difficult because this profession involves convincing your client about your ability to yield desired results. For an architect, the challenge is to produce an

artistically pleasing design within a given budget. Also, it should be remembered that gaining experience as an apprentice has its own advantages. It not only adds to the résumé but also gives one the confidence to handle projects independently. Remunaration Informs Vivek, “A fresh graduate can expect to start off with an initial package of Rs 2.5 lakh per-annum. Thereafter, one’s success depends on an individual’s commitment and sincerity towards the profession.” Adds Das, “The initial earning varies with the location of your workplace and your area of specialisation. In a place like New Delhi, a graduate working in an architectural firm may get something between Rs 20,000 and 25,000 per-month initially. Whereas, working in a real estate company may fetch one something between Rs 40,000 and 50,000. Similarly, those who specialise in software design and work in reputed MNCs can command a starting salary of

Rs 80,000-100,000 per-month.” Architecture means the art and science of designing buildings and other physical structures. Aspiring architects need either a Bachelor’s degree (BArch) or a diploma in architecture. Besides educational qualifications, a person should possess good eyesight, observation skills, creativity, analytical and mathematical ability and dexterity in drawing and sketching to succeed as an architect. These days, a number of architecture graduates also turn towards other design or software related disciplines The role of landscape architects and environment planners has become crucial Specialisations such as building sciences, building material engineering, project management, urban planning, urban design and landscape architecture have emerged in this field. For an architect, the challenge is to produce an artistically pleasing design within a given budget.

Pallikkutam | July 2014

CREA TIVE LIVING CREATIVE

Pride goes before both fall and rise Dr. Varghese Panthalookaran CMI

The national pride of the world champions or individual pride of the superstars is put to radical test on the grasses of Brazil! Every superstar has to sweat to prove his individual mettle and team-ability! Every super team has to defend their pride against field realities! The pride in play The World Cup in Football is a celebration of individual and national pride. It can be considered as a creative replacement of mutually annihilating war of nations in the past. The wars often emerged out of uncontrolled ascend in the individual/ ethnic/linguistic/religious/national pride. What people “fought out” in the past are rather “played out” today! Football proves itself to be a game that is ideally suited to transform the destructive pride into something beautiful to watch! Billions watch it these days. They swarm in the streets even during the odd mid-night hours! Each of the 32 participating nations in the Football World Cup puts up its best

Pallikkutam | July 2014

stars and team in the tournament. All cherish the ambition to be enthroned as the World Champion in Football! The superstars like Christiano Ronaldo (Portugal), Karim Benzema (France), Lionel Messi (Argentina), Thomas Mueller (Germany), Neymar (Brazil), Mario Balotelli (Italy), Arjen Robben (Netherlands), Xherdan Shaqiri (Switzerland), regularly capture thundering headlines in the world press. However, the truth of the matter is displayed right on the playground. The national pride of the world champions (e.g. Spain or Italy) or individual pride of the superstars (e.g. Christiano Ronaldo, Mario Balotelli) is put to radical test on the

grasses of Brazil! Every superstar has to sweat to prove his individual mettle and team-ability! Every super team has to defend their pride against field realities! “Pride goes before a fall” is a well-known saying. That is easier for us to understand. It takes place in front of our eyes! Is the opposite statement also true? Is it true to say, “pride goes before a rise”? We wish to investigate into the intrinsic relation between bolstering pride and creative performance. Aristotelian pride “The Nicomachean Ethics” of Aristotle portrays pride (Greek: megalopsuchia) as the “crown of all virtues”. After a detailed

CREA TIVE LIVING CREATIVE

Aristotelian pride helps you to identify your nobility. At the same time, it prepares to acknowledge and appreciate the greatness of the other. “I am o.k. so are you”, is the tone of Aristotelian pride! discussion on different virtues, Aristotle concludes: “Pride, then, seems to be a sort of crown of the virtues; for it makes them more powerful, and it is not found without them”. (Nicomachean Ethics 4.3). Aristotelian pride is associated with a deeper sense of “self-respect” originating from the true “knowledge of self”. Such self-respect is the fountainhead of all virtues, suggests Aristotle. Aristotle continues: “it is in fact very hard to be truly proud; for it is impossible without nobility and goodness of character”. Aristotelian pride emerges out of nobility and strength of character. It is not vanity, which is based on an exaggerated estimate of one’s strengths and blindness towards own weaknesses. It requires exact estimate of one’s strength and weakness. Greatness of soul or magnanimity of spirit is called upon. Aristotelian pride helps you to identify your nobility. At the same time, it prepares to acknowledge and appreciate the greatness of the other. “I am o.k. so are you”, is the tone of Aristotelian pride! A quick look into history will reveal that Aristotelian pride was part and parcel of noble souls of the past. They were aware of their inner worth, power of their thoughts and nobility of their ways. They never compromised their pride, even in the face of great persecutions. Jesus silently reinstated his status as “Son of God” even in the face of accusation of blasphemy, which could deal him death penalty as per the Law of the Jews. Mahatma Gandhi proclaimed the power of Ahimsa, even on the eve of his brutal murder. No gun-shot

could steal Martin Luther King of his powerful dreams on an egalitarian world. So were the great prophets, martyrs and saints. Their convictions were indelible and their self-confidence was indestructible. They were just proud - in Aristotelian sense! Aristotelian pride goes always before your awakening and rise! It gathers your inner power, strength of character and moral courage. It equips you to overcome an apparent deadlock in life. It revamps you after a breakage; re-collects you after a

shatter and rebuilds you after a catastrophe. It makes you like the mythical phoenix bird, which rises again and again from its own ashes. It scripts your greatness! Dantean pride Italy’s greatest poet, Dante Alighieri (1265-1321) explores another face of pride, which is vanity (Latin: superbia; Greek: hubris) in his 14th century poem, “Divine Comedy”. He considers pride as the first of the seven grave sins, the first terrace of purgatory, which has to be overcome, in order to ascend to paradise. As the description goes Dante, accompanied by the great Roman poet Virgil, encounters the souls of the proud in purgatory. To their surprise they find all of

them bent over by the weight of huge stones on their backs, due to the baggage of their pride! Some of them were proud of their descent; some others of their achievements and yet others of their dominance over others. This baggage made it difficult for them to ascend to the heights of the terrace! The pride described by Dante is the love of the self perverted to hatred and contempt for one’s neighbor. It originated from an exaggerated sense of false self. It has little to do with reality; it deals with your appearances, which could cloud your reality. Such inauthentic pride is the fountainhead of all vices, suggests Dante. Dantean pride defined downfall of famous heroes of Greek tragedies. Pride caused the fall of Lucifer from heavenly thrones to become Satan in hell. Despite being a creature of God, Lucifer dared to compete with God, to seal his fate! Similar fate loomed over the mythical human being, Adam, as he subdued himself to the temptation of Satan to eat from the “forbidden fruits” of the “tree of life”. The apparent temptation of Adam was to become God-like, which he already was. Forgetfulness of the real self and vain attempts to become what you already are defines the core of the Dantean pride. Another powerful allegory on pride presented by Dante in “Divine Comedy” is the building of the Tower of Babel. The tower was built by humans with the hidden purpose of scaling heaven, the abode of God, their creator. Such false pride of humans was severely punished in that they could not anymore communicate

Pallikkutam | July 2014

CREA TIVE LIVING CREATIVE

A combination of genuine pride and sincere humility further strengthen your collegial enterprises. It subdues your divisive tendencies, when you work in a team. This helps opening up of a world of possibilities and paves way for creativity. with each other, even as they conversed in the same language! False pride of individuals is portrayed as the root-cause of failure in human communication. How true! Pride vs. Gratitude We need to ask some fundamental questions here: What are the things, one could truly be proud of? What are the things, one could just be grateful of? How to distinguish between instances to be proud of and grateful of? Over one’s descent or origin there is in fact nothing to be proud of. That you were born as a slave-or-master, upper-or-lower caste, prince-or-subject, rich-or-poor, intelligent-or-stupid were not your decision or your choice. They were purely accidental! How could you then be proud of something, which is not your own asset? The country of your origin is also not a matter to be proud of. National pride is out of place. Your nationality is something you are born into or ascribed to you. It is often not your achievement.

Pallikkutam | July 2014

So is color of your skin, your race, your ethnicity, your language, your religion! They are part of your being conferred on you by chance. Being proud of them is Dantean. In fact, you are required to be just grateful for all these given-ness! So are most of the achievements in your life. Granting that you have a significant role in realizing them, if you are sincere, you will confess that it involves coincidence of many extraneous parameters, upon which you exercise no control at all. Your achievements, therefore, shall make you humble and grateful, not proud! Pride and creative living Studies have shown that Aristotelian pride or authentic pride plays a significant role in fueling creativity. Authentic pride generates intrinsic motivation and is instrumental to creativity. Dantean or hubristic pride is rather coupled to extrinsic motivation. It does not engender creativity on its own. However, if you are a person driven by external rewards, then hubristic pride also may trigger your creativity.

Interestingly humility, which is the apparent opposite pole to pride, is also found to boost your creativity. A humble attitude ensures that you not only possess the sense of grandness of your accomplishments but also declares your preparedness to make things better. In other words, both authentic pride and sincere humility originating from true knowledge of self keep your creative spirit sustainable. A combination of genuine pride and sincere humility further strengthen your collegial enterprises. It subdues your divisive tendencies, when you work in a team. This helps opening up of a world of possibilities and paves way for creativity. In short, authentic pride does not go before a fall; rather engendering a creative spirit, it goes before a rise! -------------------------------------------------Reference: RI Damian, RW Robins. 2013. “Aristotle’s virtue or Dante’s deadliest sin? The influence of authentic and hubristic pride on creative achievement”, Learning and Individual Differences 26, pp.156-160.

INFO TECH

Hi-tech test may cut down need for 50% heart surgeries

atients with blocked arteries are often advised surgery or angioplasty, but many of them are avoidable. Now, a technology called fractional flow reserve (FFR) promises to ascertain if a surgery or stenting is necessary. FFR, which is costlier than an angiogram and hence a supplement, works by analyzing the blood flow on either side of the block. Intervention cardiologist Dr G Sengottuvelu of Apollo Hospitals conducted a study to assess the clinical use of FFR and found that it cut the need for stents by 42% and bypass surgery by 50%. The technique costs one-fourth of an open heart surgery, he said. Using FFR technology, doctors introduce a guide wire into the artery of the patient and reach the block in the heart. The wire which has a device attached to it measures the pressure levels on either side of the block and feeds the data to a monitor. “We have to calculate the ratio, and if the result ranges between 0.8 and 1, the block doesn’t need any invasive procedure. But if the result is below 0.8,

the block is significant and requires a surgery or stent,” said Dr Sengottuvelu.

The FIND (Fractional Flow Reserve among Indian patients) study screened 59 patients with 81 blocked blood vessels.

The same patients underwent angiogram. Going by only angiogram, 45 required stents. When FFR was done in addition to angiogram, only 26 needed stents. Similarly, the angiogram results showed six needed surgery, while additional FFR results suggested surgery only for three. “This avoided procedures worth Rs8.3 lakh,” said Dr Sengottuvelu. FFR, which costs around Rs30,000 is a supplementary procedure to angiogram which costs Rs15,000. A bypass surgery costs Rs1.5 lakh upwards. The doctor said that FFR results were physiological and more accurate and benefited Indian patients mainly as they are highly susceptible to small and multivessel diseases. “Angiograms can misclassify most of the blocks as significant but if we supplement it with FFR, the numbers reduce remarkably and save a lot of pain and money for patients,” he said. The study was recently published in the American Journal ‘Catheterization and Cardiovascular Interventions.”

5 Indian cities score high in global IT talent survey

s much as half the world’s top 10 cities based on the percentage of new residents with technology skills is in India, a LinkedIn study has found. Bangalore, Pune, Hyderabad and Chennai topped the list, with Gurgaon coming in at the end. The ranking is based on an analysis of the geographic movements of the social networking site’s 300 million members, looking at every new position added to their profiles between November 2012 and November 2013.

San Francisco Bay, Seattle, Austin, Melbourne and Sydney, in that order, ranked from fifth to ninth positions. “Bangalore, Pune, Hyderabad, Chennai and Gurgaon contribute to a major chunk of India’s overall IT revenues and the tech jobs created in these cities are much higher than many other global locations. The startup wave and increasing focus of tech entrepreneurship have also contributed to this,” said Sangeeta Gupta, senior vice president of IT industry body Nasscom. It helps also, according to Ikya Human Capital Solutions Chairman Ajit Isaac, that India is experiencing a youth bulge.

Pallikkutam | July 2014

INFO TECH

GSM mobile users grow to over 300 million in rural India

ural subscriber base for GSM telephony services grew marginally to 300.63 million users in May this year compared to the previous month, industry body COAI said. The all-India GSM rural subscriber figures grew 1.1% with the addition of 3.47 million new subscribers from a userbase of 297.16 million in April, according to the data released by Cellular Operators’ Association of India (COAI). The country’s largest telecom operator Airtel added the highest number of subscribers in May at 1.43 million, taking its rural userbase to 96.18 million. UP (East) had the highest number of subscribers in the rural region (32.29

million), and also it recorded the highest addition of 888,563 users in May 2014.

According to sectoral regulator Trai, total number of rural subscribers stood at

377.73 million as of March 2014. Rural users accounted for 40.49% of total telephony base in India. Of these, 371.78 million were wireless customers, while the remaining 5.96 million were wireline users. Rural teledensity (number of telephones per 100 people) was 43.96, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) said. Trai further said private operators had a share of 89.44% of the rural telephony market, while public operator BSNL had 10.56% share. The other public telecom operator, MTNL, operates in only two metro cities of Delhi and Mumbai.

Panasonic launches Lumix FZ1000 P

anasonic unveiled the latest superzoom compact digital camera in its Lumix lineup - the DMC-FZ1000. It is being touted as the ‘world’s first bridge camera’ which offers 4K video recording. While the design is anything but compact, there are marked influences of the DSLR line of cameras. It features amongst others a F2.8-4.0/25mm400mm Leica DC Vario-Elmarit lens. The Lumix FZ1000, which is being touted as a competitor for the Sony RX10, will be released in July for $899.99. The Lumix DMC-FZ1000 features a 20.1-megapixel sensor, a redesigned Venus engine (which has been a staple on all Lumix cameras since 2001) and up to 16x optical zoom. The 20.1-megapixel sensor is of the 1-inch High Sensitivity MOS-type, which Panasonic claims is four times the size of normal compact cameras. It is akin to the sensor size of the Sony RX10. Panasonic claims the large sensor size will allow users to click better pictures in a variety of low lighting situations. The new Venus image sensor has also been improved to provide better colour reproduction and sensitivity.

Pallikkutam | July 2014

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ1000 features a OLED Live View Finder (LVF) and a 3-inch LCD screen which can rotate 180 degrees to each side or 280 degrees in either vertical direction. Users can use the LVF where the autofocus takes 0.09

seconds to focus on a subject. There is a rapid burst shoot mode to capture multiple shots can shoot up to 12 shots per second. The Lumix DMC-FZ1000 also includes 22 different filters for an array of shots to

choose from. It features NFC and Wi-Fi connectivity, meaning users can use it with Panasonic’s app to transfer images to a smartphone or take advantage of the remote shutter functionality. Of course, the main onus of the camera is on its 4K video recording capabilities. The Panasonic Lumix DMCFZ1000 is capable of shooting a wide variety of video formats. It records QFHD 4K (3840 x 2160) video at 30 fps in the MPEG-4 format. In addition there is full-HD recording at 120 fps. The recording can be used along with the 16x optical zoom and five axis optical image stabilisation. The five axis stabilisation however is available on lower shooting resolutions and is unavailable when videos are being shot in the 4K mode. The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ1000 also features an integrated level-gauge and an easy-to-use zoom ring to improve video capturing.

HEAL TH WATCH HEALTH

Food adulteration An adulterant is a chemical substance which should not be contained within other substances for legal or other reasons. The addition of adulterants is called adulteration.

What is adulteration? An adulterant is a chemical substance which should not be contained within other substances (e.g. food, beverages, and fuels) for legal or other reasons. The addition of adulterants is called adulteration. The word is appropriate only when the additions are unwanted by the recipient. Otherwise the expression would be food additive. Adulterants when used in illicit drugs are called cutting agents, while deliberate addition of toxic adulterants to food or other products for human consumption is known as poisoning.

Some Adultered Foods in market and linked especially by children: Turmeric, dals and pulses such as moong or channa: The adulterant is Metanil Yellow and Kesari Dal (Added to enhance the yellow colour of a food substance). Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s harmful effect is that it is highly carcinogenic and if consumed over a continuous period of time it can also cause stomach disorders. Green chillies, green peas and other vegetables: The adulterant is Malachite Green (To accentuate the bright, glowing green colour of the vegetable).Argemone seeds (used to add bulk and weight)that it

is a coloured dye that has proven to be carcinogenic for humans if consumed over a long period of time. Mustard seeds and mustard oil: The adulterant is Argemone seeds (used to add bulk and weight).Papaya seeds (used to add bulk)that the consumption of these could cause epidemic dropsy and severe glaucoma. Young children and senior citizens with poor immunity are more susceptible this. Paneer, khoya, condensed milk and milk: The adulterant is starch (used to give it thick, rich texture).It â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;s harmful effect is that it is unhygienic, unprocessed water

Pallikkutam | July 2014

HEAL TH W AT CH HEALTH

In Ice cream the adulterant is pepperonil, ethyl acetate, butraldehyde, emil acetate, nitrate, washing powder etc are not less than poison. Pepperoil is used as a pesticide and ethyl acetate causes terrible diseases affecting lungs, kidneys and heart. and starch can cause stomach disorders. Starch greatly reduces the nutritional value of the ingredient.

effect is that Papaya seeds can cause serious liver problems and stomach disorders.

Ice cream: The adulterant is pepperonil, ethyl acetate, butraldehyde, emil acetate, nitrate, washing powder etc are not less than poison. Pepperoil is used as a pesticide and ethyl acetate causes terrible diseases affecting lungs, kidneys and heart.

Coffee powder: The adulterant is Tamarind seeds, chicory powder (used to add bulk and colour).It â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;s harmful effect is that it can cause diarrhea, stomach disorders, giddiness and severe joint pains.

Ice cream is manufactured in extremely cold chamber where fat is hardened and several harmful substances are added. Also a kind of gum is added which is sticky and slow melting. This gum is obtained by boiling animal parts like tail, the nose, the udder etc. Black pepper: The adulterant is Papaya seeds (used to add bulk).It â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;s harmful

Pallikkutam | July 2014

the manufacture of jellies and sweets. The bright colours used to attract children often contained lead, copper or mercury salts.

Food-preservatives have a very extensive use, which often constitutes adulteration. Salt is the classic preservative, but is seldom classified as an adulterant. Salicylic, benzoic, and boric acids, and their sodium salts, Some other adulterants: The starch in formaldehyde, ammonium fluoride, rice powder or wheat flour, often added to sulphurous acid and its salts are among the thicken cream, could be identified by the principal preservatives. Many of these blue colour produced by a dilute solution appear to be innocuous, but there is danger of iodine in aqueous potassium iodide. Red that the continued use of food preserved wine adulterated with the juice of bilberries by these agents may be injurious. or elderberries produced a deep blue precipitate with lead acetate. Of all forms Some preservatives have been conclusively of adulteration the most reprehensible was shown to be injurious when used for long the use of poisonous colouring matters in period.

HEAL TH WATCH HEALTH

Any jellies, which are coloured so as to simulate finer ones. In confectionery, dangerous colours, such as chrome yellow, prussian blue, copper and arsenic compounds are employed. ♦ Coal-tar colours are employed a great deal, pickles and canned vegetables are sometimes coloured green with copper salts. ♦ ♦

Butter is made more yellow by anatta.

Turmeric is used in mustard and some cereal preparations.

♦ Any jellies, which are coloured so as to simulate finer ones. In confectionery, dangerous colours, such as chrome yellow, prussian blue, copper and arsenic compounds are employed. ♦ Cream is adulterated with gelatin, and formaldehyde is employed as a preservative for it.

♦ Butter is adulterated to an enormous extent with oleomargarine, a product of beef fat. ♦

Brick dust in chilli powder, coloured chalk powder in turmeric. Injectable dyes in watermelon, peas, capsicum, brinjal, papaya seeds in black pepper etc. Adulteration in water: Water that has been adequately chlorinated, by using the minimum recommended water treatment standard provide protection against viral and bacterial waterborne diseases. However, chlorine treatment alone, as used in the

routine disinfection of water, might not kill some enteric viruses and the parasitic organisms that cause giardiasis, amoebiasis, and cryptosporidiosis. The safety of canned or bottled carbonated beverages, including carbonated bottled water and soft drinks is questionable nowadays. Where water might be contaminated, one is advised that ice should also be considered contaminated and should not be used in beverages. If ice has been in contact with containers used for drinking, one should thoroughly clean the containers, preferably with soap and hot water, after the ice has been discarded.

Pallikkutam | July 2014

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^pSvt_mƒ IfnbpsS F°mesØbpw cmPmhv, s]se, {_ko¬ \mjW¬ Soante°v sXcs™Sp°s∏´t∏mƒ At±lØn\v ]Xn\mdp hbt {]mbap≠mbncp∂p≈p. ]Xnt\gmw hb n¬ 1958 se thƒUv I∏v ss^\¬kn¬ c-p tKmfSn®mWv XpS°w. {]mbap-≠mbncp∂p≈p. ]Xnt\gmw hb n¬ 1958 se thƒUv I∏v ss^\¬kn¬ c≠-p tKmfSn®mWv XpS°w. \mep h¿jØn\p tijw Nnenbn¬ \S∂ thƒUv I∏n¬ Igebv°p ]‰nb ]cp°paqew ]pdØncnt°-≠n h∂p. {_ko¬ A∂pw temINmºy∑mcmbn. 1966 se temII∏n¬ Hcp t]m¿´pKokv Un^≥UdpsS _q´vkn\Snbnse Iq¿Ø BWnIƒ s]sesb Ifn°fØn¬\n∂pw Bip]{Xnbnte°p am‰n. \mep h¿jw Ign™v saIvknt°mbn¬ s]se ^pSvt_mƒ Ifn°v ]pXnb `mjyw \¬In. kmw_m \yØw t]mse at\mlcamWv ^pSvt_mfpw F∂v temIsØ Im´n. Hcp H‰bmƒ {]IS\w. c-≠mgv® \o≠p\n∂ B amkvac{]IS\Øns‚ Ahkm\w ho-≠pw {_koen\v Incohpw. C\n s]se \¬Inb ]mTw. ]¥v s]sebpsS ImenemWv. tKmfnte°v ap∏Xp ao‰¿ AIeap≠-v. ap∂n¬ aq∂p FXn¿ Ifn°m¿. ]n∂n¬ \n∂v HmSnbSp°p∂ c≠-pt]¿. Chcn¬

IdpØhcpw shfpØhcpw Xhn´p\nd°mcpap≠-v. ChcpsS `mj hyXykvXamWv. Chcn¬ Ip≈\pw s]m°°mc\pap≠-v. ]Xns\´pImc\pw \mev]XpImc\pap≠-v ChcpsS PmXnbpw aXhpw ssZhhpw hn`n∂amWv. s]sebv°v Chsc shń®v Kym∏neqsS tKmfnte°v \oń ASn°m≥ {iaw \SØmw. 30 iXam\w Nm≥kv. ]¥p s]mßnbm¬ tKmƒIo∏¿°v ]nSn°m≥ 80 iXam\w Nm≥kv. {Ku≠-v tjm´mbm¬ Nm≥kv 50 Bbn Ipdbpw. dnkv°v BWv. ]s£ ASn°Ww. ASn®ns√¶n¬ Ch¿ ]nSnt®m Nhpńtbm \neØnSpw. ]s£ ASn®v tKmfmbm¬ kq∏¿. C\n \mep an\nt´bp≈p Ifn Xocm≥. CXv tKmfmbns√¶n¬ Sow ka\nebn¬. s]se _m°v ]mkp sNbvXp. tÃm∏¿, anUvô¬U¿, C∂sØ tπ ta°¿, Xncn®v s]sebv°v Sm∏p sNbvXp. Ct∏mƒ Un^≥Up sNbvXncp∂h¿ NnXdn. ]s£ tKmfnte°p≈ BwKnfn¬ C\n c≠p t]cp≠-v. C\n Nm≥kv 40 iXam\w. s]sebv°v Xo¿®bmWv.

C\n CØcw Nm≥kp-≠mIm≥ km≤yXbn√. ]s£ At±lw ]¥p s]m°n am¿°p sNømsX s]mknj≥ amdn hcmhp∂ hn≥K¿°v \o´n ASn®p. Hcp \nanjw. IWIvSnwKv tjm´v. B Sow ta‰v ASn® ]¥v XSp°m\p≈ Ac \nanjw tKmƒIo∏¿°p e`n®n√. tKmƒ. Bchw. s]sebpsS {_ko¬ hnPbn®p. s]sebv°v Xm≥ tKmfSn®m¬ In´pambncp∂ ta∑ In´nbn√. ]s£ ]mkv tKmfmbncp∂ns√¶n¬ Sow Pbn°n√. AXv X\n°pw ]tcm£ambn ISpØ \jvSamWv. kwL¿jØnse kahmbw. A¥naambn BtemNn®m¬ kaqlPohnIfmb \ΩpsS F√m {]h¿Ø\ßfpw CXpt]mse Xs∂bmWv. \ap°p Pbn°mw. ]s£ \ΩpsS Sow tXm‰m¬ \ΩpsS kaqlamWv tXm¬°p∂Xv. kzm¿∞w hnPbn°pw. AXv sX‰mWv. Cu ^pSvt_mƒ IfnbpsS DZv`hw ckIcambncp∂ncn°Ww. AXv Pallikkutam | July 2014

GUEST COLUMN

saIvknt°mbn¬ s]se ^pSvt_mƒ Ifn°v ]pXnb `mjyw \¬In. kmw_m \yØw t]mse at\mlcamWv ^pSvt_mfpw F∂v temIsØ Imń. Hcp H‰bmƒ {]IS\w. c-≠mgv® \o≠-p\n∂ B amkvac{]IS\Øns‚ Ahkm\w ho≠pw {_koen\v Incohpw. Fßns\ Bbncp∂p F∂Xns\°pdn®v C∂pw B[nImcnIamb sXfnhpIƒ e`n®nń√. BZnaImew apX¬ a\pjyh¿§Øn\v ASnÿm\]cambn D-≠mbncp∂ kz`mhhntijw Iq´mbn tN¿∂v B{IaWImcnIsf FXn¿°pI F∂Xmbncp∂p. AXpt]mse BlmcØn\pw ta¬t°mbvabv°pw a‰p≈hsc B{Ian®v Iogvs∏SpØpIbpw Bhiyambncp∂p. \ΩpsS c‡Ønep≈ Cu hnImcßƒ°v Hcp _ln¿Ka\am¿§w ^pSvt_mƒ IfnbneqsS \ap°p e`n°p∂p. tdmam km{amPyØn¬ lm¿]mÃw F∂ t]cn¬ GXm≠-v ^pSvt_mƒ IfntbmSv kmayap≈ Hcp Ifn {]Ncn®ncp∂p. c-≠p SoapIƒ. Ah¿ \n¬°p∂Xn\p ]n∂n¬ Hmtcm sse≥ hc®ncn°pw. c≠-p Iq´scbpw Ifn°fØn\v a≤yØn¬ \n¿Ønbn´v Hcp XpI¬∏¥v tatems´dnbpw. AXv ]nSn®v FXn¿I£nsb ASn®pw CSn®pw Nhpńbpw adn IS∂v ]¥v Pallikkutam | July 2014

sse\n\∏pdsØØn°Ww. lm¿]mÃw F∂ hm°v {Ko°p `mjbn¬ ssI sIm≠-p X´mhp∂ ]¥v F∂¿∞w hcp∂ hm°n¬ \n∂pw D¤hn®XmWv. AXpsIm≠-v ^pSvt_mfn\v BZycq]Øn¬ C∂sØ dKv≠nbpamtbm _mkv°‰v t_mfpamtbm Gsd kmayap≠-mbncp∂p.

sshZKv≤yhpw IW°m°msX B¿°pw Ifn°mhp∂Xpw efnXamb \nbaßƒ am{Xap≈Xpamb Cu Ifn s]s´∂v km[mcW°mcpsS {]nbhnt\mZambn amdn.

{]`p°∑mcpsS hnt\mZambn amdnb {In°‰v A∂v cq]s∏ńń√. Cw•≠nse ssaXm\nIfn¬ Cw•-n¬ tdma≥ A[n\nthi°m¿ c- XpI¬∏¥p X´p∂ Bƒ°mcpsS FÆw IqSnh∂p. At∏mƒ ≠mbncw h¿jßƒ°p apºv ÿm]n® sNÃ¿ F∂ ]´WØn¬ AsºbvØp ]Tn®v F√m h¿jhpw t{jmhv sNmΔmgv® hnZKv≤ssk\nIcmIm≥ sNcn∏pIpØnIƒ ]cn]mh\amb Xbmdp≈hcpsS FÆw kzm`mhnIambpw Ipdbm≥ XpSßn. Hcp I¿Ωw C∂pw \SØp∂p≠-v. Ah¿ Hcp XpI¬∏¥p-≠m°n 1297 se BwKvtfm kvt°mńjv Xø¬°m¿°p sImSp°pw. F∂n´v bp≤w. FtUz¿Uv c≠-p Iqćpw IqSn B ]¥p H∂ma\mbncp∂p A∂v Cw•-≠nse sIm≠-v \KcØnse s]mXp cmPmhv. At±lØn\v tZjyw ÿeØv GItZiw C∂sØ h∂p. Bcpw bp≤sØ coXnbnep≈ ^pSvt_mƒ Ifn°pw. Kuchambn FSp°p∂n√. Cu NSßv Bcw`n®Xv sNÃ¿ {]tXyIn®pw kvt°mńjv B{Ian°m≥ h∂ t\m¿a≥ B{IaWsØ sNdp°m≥ ssk\ysØ tXm¬∏n®Xns‚ _m≤yÿcmb e¶msjbdpIm¿. hm¿jnImtLmjambn´mWv. A∂v AhnSpsØ sNdp∏°m¿ bp≤w BZysØ ]¥v t\m¿a≥ sNøp∂Xn\p ]Icw ]¥p ssk\ym[n]s‚ Xe Bbncp∂p. Ifn°pIbmWv. At±lw 2500 Nnehp Ipd™Xpw {]mbhpw ]u≠-v e¶msjbdn\p ta¬

GUEST COLUMN

kwL¿jßfnse√mw Hcp kahmb Xew Hfn™pInS∏p≠-v. B Xew I≠-p]nSn®v AXneqsS apt∂m´p t]mIpI. Aßns\ kahmbw Is≠-Øp∂ a\ pIfptSXmWv `mhn. AXv hy‡nIfmbmepw, ÿm]\ßfmbmepw, tIm¿∏td‰pIfmbmepw, cmjv{Sßfmbmepw Aßs\Xs∂bmWv. \nIpXn NpaØn.

am¿∏m∏bpsS [ocamb Im¬hbv]pIfpw CXn\v 1365 ¬ FtUz¿Uv aq∂ma≥ ssk\ytkh\sØ {]XnIqeambn DZmlcWßfmWv. _m[n°p∂p F∂p ]d™v Cu kpXmcyXbpw kzmX{¥yhpw ]¥pIfn Cw•-≠n¬ \ntcm[n®p. kaqlØns‚ ]ptcmKXnbpsS dn®m¿Uv c≠-ma≥, sl≥dn F´ma≥ \mgnI°√mWn∂v. ChnsS XpSßn H∂mw Fenk_Øv dmWn B[p\nIbpKØnse hsc CØcw A\h[n kwL¿jsØ \mw GXpw hn[w \ntcm[\ßƒ G¿s∏SpØn. t\cnSpw? ]s£ ]¥pIfnbnep≈ Bthiw kwL¿jw \ap°v FhnsSbpw km[mcW°m¿°v IqSn A\p`hs∏Sp∂p. Cu kwL¿jw h∂tXbp≈p. aq∂pw \mepw ssaeIse tKmƒ t]mÃpIƒ \m´n Hmtcm {KmaØns‚bpw SoapIƒ Ifn \SØpw. At\ym\yw B{Ian°m\pw ASn]nSn \SØm\pw [mcmfw kabw. kuIcyw. Hmtcm Ifn Ignbptºmgpw Iq´Øn¬ apdnhpw NXhpw ]‰mØh¿ Bcpw ImWpIn√. {K≠u-nepw ]cnkcØpw Iodnb tIm´pIfpw NX™ sXm∏nIfpw \ndbpw.

BtcmKyIcamb At\ym\y_‘Øns‚ `mKamWv. H∂v Xo¿®bmWv. c-≠p t]¿ XΩn¬ F√m ImcyØnepw IfnbpsS t]cp Xs∂ l¿enwKv, Ft∏mgpw Htc A`n{]mbw DIymw]vt_mƒ Fs∂ms°bmbncp∂p. A°meØv ≠mIm≥ km≤ya√. \ΩpsS Po\pIƒ hyXykvXamWv. U¿_nbnse Ifn°fØn¬ Np‰p]mSpw hyXykvXamWv. ]s£ CØcw Hcp a’cw I≠- Hcp \ap°v hyXymkØneqsS D{^©pImc≥ FgpXnbs{X. ≠mIp∂ kwL¿jsØ Cw•ojpIm¿ Cu I≠BtcmKyIcam°mw. AXns\ kw`hØns\ Ifn F∂mWv ]pXnb A\pIqe Ahkcam°n hnfn°p∂sX¶n¬ Cu bp≤w F∂dnbs∏Sp∂Xv F¥ns\bmWv ? am‰mw. CXn\v Hcp efnXamb hnZybp≠-v. kwL¿jsØ imkv{Xhpw kmt¶XnIcwKsØ I- t\cnSpI. I≠-n√ F∂v \Sn®v ≠p]nSpØßfpw C∂v \ap°v Hgnhm°cpXv. Ccp Iq´cpsSbpw ]pXnb Xeßfpw cq]ßfpw kwL¿jImcWßsf \¬Ins°m≠-ncn°pIbmWv. A]{KYn°ptºmƒ Ahbn¬ cmjv{SßfpsS `qanimkv{Xw _lp`qcn]£hpw At\ym\yw A{]k‡amIp∂p. bqtdm]y≥ klIcn®m¬ {InbmﬂIambn C°tWman°v bqWnb\pw Ccph¿°pw {]tbmP\Icambh ssN\bpsS am¿°‰nwKv ssienbpw Bbncn°pw F∂p ImWmw.

Chbnte°v {i≤ tI{μoIcn°pI. Hcp sNdnb DZmlcWw. PohnXØn¬ Hcp Ip™p t\cnSp∂ BZysØ kwL¿jw Xs‚ amXm]nXm°fpambmWv. Ip™n\v Ft∏mgpw Xs‚ Np‰pap≈ A¤pXtemIsØ tXSn∏nSn®v kz¥am°Ww. P∂epw tdmUpw InWdpw Ah\v {]Xn_‘a√. ]s£ amXm]nXm°ƒ°v Ip™ns‚ kpc£bmWv {][m\w. AXn\v Ip™ns‚ At\zjWXzcbv°v XSbnSWw. Ccphcpw XΩnep≈ kwL¿jw \ne \n¬°p∂p. AhnsS ]pXnb kahmIyßfneqsS kwL¿jw Ipdbv°m≥ Unkv\n em≥UpIfpw Nn¬Uvd≥kv ]m¿°pIfpw Ifn∏m´ßfpw I≠-p]nSn°p∂p. hcpw temIw imkv{Xw sIm-≠p hcp∂ I≠-p]nSpØßƒ Db¿Øp∂ kwL¿jßfpsS \Sphnembncn°pw. AXn¬ \n∂v \ap°v tamN\an√. ]s£ B kwL¿jßfnse√mw Hcp kahmb Xew Hfn™pInS∏p≠-v. B Xew I-≠p]nSn®v AXneqsS apt∂m´p t]mIpI. Aßns\ kahmbw Is-Øp∂ a\ pIfptSXmWv `mhn. AXv hy‡nIfmbmepw, ÿm]\ßfmbmepw, tIm¿∏td‰pIfmbmepw, cmjv{Sßfmbmepw H∂p Xs∂bmWv. s]sebpw adtUmWbpw sa nbpw s\bvadpw AhcpsS Ifnbnse ]pXphgnIfneqsS \ΩpsS Kpcp°fmWv. ^pSvt_mƒ \ΩpsS ]T\{KŸhpw. Pallikkutam | July 2014

EMVEE’S ARMCHAIR DREAMS

Playmaker to outwit striker in Kerala K M Mani has adapted the new combination, but he is still in mid-field and let us watch if any innovations will appear in the 2014 world cup where he can score the ultimate goal outwitting the other playmaker...

t was four years ago. Manorama T V’s popular live program for interaction with the News Maker of the year finalists was in progress in the picturesque surroundings of the studio lawns. Kerala’s permanent Finance Minister dear K M Mani Sahib was one of the five finalists. Mr. Mani had to face and answer questions from an active audience of about 30 voters in addition to the main participants Kunjalikutty Sahib, K L Mohana Varma and three well known personalities. All questions were focusing on Mani sahib’s political tight rope walking style and Robert Bruce perseverance to achieve his half a century old dream of becoming the Chief Minister of Kerala. He, of course was well prepared for the ordeal. He had the best of his smiles while camouflaging the issue. He didn’t deny his ambition, but said. Look, United Democratic Front is a football team. Kunjalikutty Sahib and myself are senior and experienced players of the team. But we are full back and

Pallikkutam | July 2014

are controlled by the Play Maker, the former centre half. Sir, In the world cup final rounds, Brazil, Argentina and the Latin American super striker based teams performed well, but did not win and Spain and Italy and other European teams scored The entire congregation laughed and agreed. and won with their new strategy of play maker based team game. And, Sir, most of It was just a few months after the 2010 the goals were scored by their playmakers. Football world cup. centre half. We defend, outmaneuver the opposition, get openings and give passes to the forwards and Oommen Chandy as the top striker receives them and scores the goal.

When the turn came, the sports crazy Varmaji said. Manissar, you are right. But see the recently concluded world cup. The old system of centre half, changed to stopper back doing the duties you mentioned, but now the stopper is no more and the place is taken over by Play Maker who moves everywhere in the field, defends, get openings and control the movements of forwards and even take over their roles. The 1-2-3-5 age old set up had undergone many changes and now every team comes up with new combinations and adapts it according to circumstances. But all these

Mani Sahib enjoyed it and Kunjalikutty Sahib in his conclusion comments pointed his finger at Mani sahib and cautioned. Manissar, Please don’t become playmaker and score as Varmaji pointed out. The silent, but eloquent warning was, I am also a playmaker. K M Mani has adapted the new combination, but he is still in mid-field and let us watch if any innovations will appear in the 2014 world cup where he can score the ultimate goal outwitting the other playmaker. .

CONFESSIONS Luis Suarez

â&#x20AC;&#x153;I lost my balance, making my body unstable and falling on top of my opponent. At that moment I hit my face against the player leaving a small bruise on my cheek and a strong pain in my teeth.â&#x20AC;?

- Luis Suarez explains his bite.

Printed and Published by Fr.Varghese Panthalookaran CMI on behalf of Rajagiri Media, Rajagiri Valley PO, Kakkanad, Kochi-39 Ph: 0484-2428249. Printed at Five Star Offset Printers, Kochi. Editor: James Paul